TENNIS FOR WOMEN 




MISS MOLLA BJURSTEDT 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 



BY 

MOLLA BJURSTEDT 

National, Indoor, Clay Court, Metropolitan, and Middle 
States Woman Champion, 1915 

AND 

SAMUEL CROWTHER 




Illustrated from photographs 



Garden City New York 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

1916 



36 



Copyright, igi6, by 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

All rights reserved, including that of 

translation into foreign languages, 

including the Scandinavian 




MAY 17 1915 



CU 43*03 5 



FOREWORD 

This little book does not pretend to be a scientific 
treatise on the game of tennis. It presents my ideas 
of the game particularly as it should be played by 
women. Many excellent players will undoubtedly 
agree with me and many other equally excellent play- 
ers will undoubtedly disagree with me. I do not con- 
ceitedly claim that I am always right nor will I con- 
cede for a moment that I am always wrong. I merely 
sketch the game as I know it. 

MOLLA BjURSTEDT. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Foreword v 

I. The Woman's Game 3 

II. Taking Up Tennis 19 

III. The Strokes That Win — The 

Drives 32 

IV. Aces or Double Faults — The Ser- 

vice 49 

V. The Volley and the Lob ... 65 

VI . Putting a Twist on the Ball . . 80 

VII. Playing the Game — Singles . . 92 

VI 1 1 . Playing the Game — Mixed Doubles 

and Women's Doubles . . 112 

IX. At the Top of One's Game . . 124 

X. The Test of the Tournaments . 142 

XI. What Not to Wear 151 

XII. The Practice That Helps . . . 155 

XIII. Mostly Personal 164 



Vll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Miss Molla Bjurstedt . 



Frontispiece 



FACING PAGE 



The Beginning of the Forehand Drive 

The Grip for the Forehand Drive . 

The Finish of the Forehand Drive . 

Finish of the Forehand Drive . . . 

The Service of Mrs. George W. Wightman 

The Beginning of the Service . . . 

At the Finish of the Service . . . 

Driving a Short Lob 

A Low Backhand Volley in Mid Court 

A Forehand Volley Near the Net . 

Service of Miss Mary Browne . . 

The Beginning of the Backhand Drive 

The Follow Through on the Backhand 
Drive 



Finish of the Forehand Drive — on the 
Wrong Foot 



The Service of Miss Ann Sheafe . 



8 

22 

34 

42 

52 

58 
64 
78 

88 
100 
114 
130 

138 ' 

150 
162 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

CHAPTER I 

THE WOMAN'S GAME 

TAKE the net as soon as you can — and don't 
let her pass you." I heard this instruction 
given to a young girl by a man ranking in 
the first ten. The girl took the advice eagerly — as 
though it were new and unusual. A few weeks 
later I saw her playing; she was faithfully following 
the principle in so far as reaching the net was con- 
cerned but she was being passed at will. Her op- 
ponent, who had not nearly so much tennis ability, 
was winning rather easily. 

The admonition to play the volley game is perfectly 

sound; the style is most effective — if you can play it. 

I have never known a girl or a woman who could 

play a net game in singles through three hard sets — 

[3] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

who could reach the net, volley consistently, and 
keep the pace. And yet I do not know how many 
thousands are trying to progress in this style of 
game under the impression that first-class tennis is 
not to be achieved without imitating Mr. Maurice 
McLoughlin. Mr. McLoughlin, at his best, is a 
marvellous player; he can do things which an ordi- 
nary human is foolish to attempt. And he must be 
in the most splendid physical and mental condition 
to play his own peculiar game. No other man has 
ever yet been able to put over a railroad serve, follow 
up to the net, and play the ball almost continuously 
in the air; it demands more energy and endurance 
than even the trained man possesses. Mr. John- 
ston, the present champion, and Mr. Williams, the 
19 14 champion, have flashes of the McLoughlin 
game, but they find hard driving more economical of 
effort and just as effective in point getting. 

If the men in the first flight cannot play the hard 
serving, smashing game, how foolish it is for the 
average girl to experiment with it ! 

[4] 



THE WOMANS GAME 

No woman has the strength, the reach, or the quick- 
ness of the skilful tennis man, and to play consist- 
ently at the net requires the ultimate in strength, 
reach, and quickness. It is silly to take the net 
and be passed by the first return, but only extraor- 
dinary speed and reach will avoid passing, while 
just as uncommon spryness is needed to go back 
to the base line for the lobs. I have never had much 
difficulty in passing an inveterate volleyer or in forc- 
ing her back by hard drives, and while she is ex- 
hausting herself, I am consuming comparatively little 
energy. 

The best volleyer that I have seen among women 
is Mrs. George W.Wightman (Miss Hazel Hotchkiss). 
She is deadly at the net; she is the best partner to 
be found among all the women for mixed doubles 
because there she can show her volley skill; but she 
cannot often keep up the pace of her game through 
three sets of singles. I have played against her 
many times and she always leads me until the effort 
of her game begins to wear her down. I am con- 

[5] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

siderably stronger than most women, but I could not 
play the man's game. 

I think it best for a woman to realize that she is 
a woman and to adopt a style of tennis play which 
will call for all the generalship and strength which 
she can claim— but not for more. 

Any girl will find her best tennis by concentrating 
on the drives rather than on the service and by mak- 
ing use of the volley only when circumstances prom- 
ise an ace. 

Accuracy and speed from the base line make up 
the game of tennis for women. It is not a spectac- 
ular style, but it wins. I do not for a moment ad- 
vocate pat ball and I do not consider it enough 
merely to make a return. I have nothing of gentle- 
ness in my own game, but I do not attempt the im- 
possible — and I hold the net game for women ap- 
proaches the impossible. 

The base-line game is almost universal abroad, 
although English women volley much more than is 
generally supposed. The average of play abroad, 

[6] 



THE WOMAN S GAME 

taking the whole tournament season, is somewhat 
higher than in the United States. I think this 
is because the women in England, Germany, and 
France give vastly more attention to their form in 
driving. American women waste so much time in a 
vain attempt to learn to volley that they neglect 
the foundation of their game. 

I have yet to know a first-class volleyer among 
women who has consistently won from a hard-hitting 
base-line player. Mrs. Bundy (Miss May Sutton) 
is a hard and accurate driver; it was her driving that 
brought her the English championship, although she 
plays extremely well overhead when such play is 
needed. She drove so well that some of the English 
women thought they could break up her game if only 
they could dislodge her from the command of the 
drive. In the championship singles of 1905 Mrs. 
Larcombe (then Miss E. W. Thompson) planned 
to win from Miss Sutton with a volley game. She 
lured Miss Sutton to the net by a short, drop drive 
and then lobbed the return high to the base line; 

[7] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

this gave her the chance to reach the net, where she 
caught Miss Sutton's return of the lob with a sharp 
cross-court volley for the ace. Miss Thompson won 
five out of the first seven games by these [tactics, 
but she ran herself off her feet in the winning; she 
became feebler and feebler, while Miss Sutton was 
as fresh and strong as at the beginning. Having 
worn herself out, Miss Thompson lost all control and 
Miss Sutton ran out that set and then took the 
second set and the match without the least trouble. 
Possibly Miss Thompson might have won had she 
been able to keep up her starting pace — but she 
went the way of all women volleyers. I am fairly 
certain that, some day, a girl will burst out with the 
ability to play the fast game through the course of 
two tournament sets; that girl will be, beyond ques- 
tion, a champion. But there is no sight of her as yet. 

Closely pressing the desire to play the net game is 
the yearning after a service which will always score 
aces. 

Many girls have the notion that tennis is a one- 

[8] 




Photograph by Paul Thompson 

THE BEGINNING OF THE FOREHAND DRIVE 

Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



TH E WOMAN S GAME 

stroke game. They act as though the game started 
and stopped with the delivery of a non-returnable 
service ball. Of course a non-returnable service 
would be a distinctly worth-while acquisition for any 
player — man or woman; the super-girl, of whom I 
have just spoken, might attain such a service and 
score aces as she pleased, but I have yet to meet the 
unreturnable service. 

The service is merely the stroke which puts the 
ball into play; it may be made with more speed and 
precision than the subsequent strokes of the game, 
because it is executed at leisure, but it is not the 
game itself, and undue attention to the service will 
not only exhaust a player but is also apt to result in 
a slacking of the play after the service. 

Rather than work for a non-returnable service, 
one had better cultivate an accurate service of fair 
speed that does not require too much strength. Save 
your strength for the drives, because no matter how 
hard you may serve, a first-class player will nearly 
always find a way to return; the service aces are not 

[9] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

numerous enough to warrant the effort in trying for 
them, while the attempt to score on the service may 
easily gain as many double faults as aces. 

The ranking women players are not the players 
with the swiftest services. I have never been able 
to develop more than fair speed and accuracy on 
the service; Mrs. Bundy has almost as bad a service 
as I have; Mrs. Wightman has little speed but ex- 
cellent placement. 

A few girls try to learn the fast twisting services 
which some male players use — the reverse twist for 
instance — but when they do develop that service, 
they seldom have another stroke at command, and 
they will beat themselves if you give them half a 
chance; if they serve a very fast first ball, they will 
either have a slow and easily killed second ball or 
they will put over the second ball at the pace of the 
first and therefore make frequent double faults. 
Bothering with the complex services is not worth 
while, the effort of the delivery is too exhausting. 

The point which I wish to make is this : a woman 

[10] 



THE WOMAN'S GAME 

has physical limitations— she is not so strong or so 
enduring as a man and she must acknowledge these 
limitations when playing tennis. She can play a 
certain sort of game very well indeed while another 
sort of game is quite beyond her. By mixing the 
two extremes she will have a game which is neither 
one thing nor the other, but by developing along the 
right lines she will attain a technique that makes for 
good tennis. The woman's game emphasizes hard 
drives and accuracy and minimizes the plays, such as 
the volley and the twisting services, which make huge 
drafts on energy. 

I believe in accuracy and speed. Both are 
the results of style. Therefore a player needs 
style. Style represents that method of executing a 
stroke which has been found to produce the best re- 
sults with the least possible exertion. With proper 
form the hard drive does not represent mere brute 
strength but perfect timing and the concentration of 
the weight of the body on the ball. Without this co- 
ordination one may hit at the ball very hard indeed 

in] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

without making a really fast drive. Every person 
will not find the same style comfortable, but it is very 
rare that a grotesque style gives results. Some 
players win in spite of their style, but it will usually be 
found that these players have picked up faults in the 
beginning which they have not been able to overcome 
and therefore their ultimate playing style is only the 
result of a bad start. 

When you have gross faults of style it is well to try 
out thoroughly with a good professional or a skilled 
player. If, after exhaustive experiment, you find that 
better style does not improve your game, then you 
may let well enough alone. But only one player in 
every thousand will do well to stay with a funda- 
mentally bad style. 1 1 is far better to begin tennis all 
over again and spend two or three years in thoroughly 
reforming your bad habits. 

Some few elements must be common to every 
style which is worthy the name; without these ele- 
ments the style is so bad that persistency is foolish. 

Among these elements are the (i) foot work and its 

[12] 



THE WOMAN S GAME 

close associate, (2) body momentum, and (3) the 
swing and the follow through. Unless the feet are 
well managed, a player will not reach the ball in proper 
position for the stroke, and, if she is not in proper po- 
sition, she will not add weight to the swing of the 
racquet; even the strongest arm will not put the pace 
on a ball that is given, almost without effort, by a 
slight concentration of the force of the body at ex- 
actly the right moment. I am not enough of a scien- 
tist to know why following through helps speed and 
control so much — because it starts after the ball has 
left the racquet. I am told that the follow through is 
valuable because it forces one to start the stroke well 
before the impact with the ball and thus insures a 
firm, even, forceful swing. Certainly speed and 
control are not possible without taking the stroke 
through at least half a circle. Every one knows how 
a golf ball pops off from a shakily swung club; a ten- 
nis ball acts in precisely the same way if the racquet 
be rudely poked at it. The full, true stroke is essen- 
tial. 

[13] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

Although it may not be given to every one to play 
first-class tennis and many will not have ambitions 
in that direction, yet more fun is to be had from the 
game by playing well rather than poorly. And any 
girl, without a serious physical defect, may learn to 
play a passable game of tennis. 

Tennis seldom comes naturally; one may have the 
strength, the speed, and the eye by nature, but form 
is a question of hard, painstaking work. The best 
players practise tirelessly — they are playing every 
day through the open season and often play indoors 
a good part of the winter. They do not expect to 
play half a dozen times a year and also play well. I 
take a professional every little while to help me out 
on some part of the game where I feel especially 
weak. 

I know splendid players who apparently have not a 
single natural aptitude toward the game, but by in- 
telligent practice they have learned the game best 
suited to them — and they play it. Mrs Barger- 
Wallach is not strong, but she has acquired a tennis 

[14] 



THE WOMAN'S GAME 

game far above the average. Mr. Johnston is very 
slightly built. 

Tennis does not need brute strength as much as co- 
ordination; coordination is a matter of training; 
therefore tennis resolves itself into form and training. 
If one has strength and speed in addition to form and 
coordination, so much the better for the eventual 
game, but it is a mistake to imagine that only the 
natural athlete can profitably take up tennis. 

There is no tennis age; the limit is mental. I have 
partnered with the Crown Prince of Sweden against 
the King and my sister. Of the two men, the King 
is the better player. In Germany the Countess 
of Schulenberg enters tournaments at scratch; her 
daughter, in the twenties, has a handicap. I know a 
dozen women over fifty who will give any one a stiff 
game; and I also know girls of fifteen and sixteen who 
are masters of every stroke. I should hardly advise 
the very young girls or the women past fifty to enter 
the first-class tournaments, because the nervous strain 
of playing through is considerable; but tournament 

[15] 



TENNIS FOR WOM EN 
play engages only a small number of players and is 
not to be considered the end of tennis. The real ob- 
ject of tennis — the object of any sport — is to gain 
health and have a good time. 

I think any girl or woman will be helped by play- 
ing tennis. 

Strength, quickness, grace, agility, and general 
good health are the rewards. 

It is a mistake to imagine that a woman should 
have only gentle, lazy exercise. A normal woman 
needs an outdoor sport which will stir her blood and 
her brain. 

Droning through a set of motions is a mere waste 
of time. 

Tennis has every element of the perfect exercise for 
women. There is no bodily contact and hence no 
danger of injury, but there is the strongest kind of 
competition. The fighting spirit is developed, and 
I think a girl ought to have as much pluck and fight- 
ing spirit as a man. It helps in everything to be 
able to clench the teeth and say, " I am going to win." 

[16] 



THE WOMAN S GAME 

And then tennis keeps the player in the open air 
amid the most healthful surroundings; you have to 
move quickly, your hand and your foot must obey 
your mind, and you are forced to forget poses and all 
that unnatural sort of thing. A girl is the better for 
knowing she is alive. 

Tennis is not too violent. A weak woman may 
adapt her game to the limits of her physique; she 
will play a gentle game until more strength per- 
mits her to play harder and faster. I have played 
twelve hard sets in a single afternoon and then 
danced all the evening without finding myself 
harmed. Of course this would be too much for an 
unseasoned player — but then an unseasoned player 
could not keep on her feet so long. 

Tennis is not for the girl who wants a milk- 
white face covered with paint and powder; if that 
is the ideal of feminine beauty, tennis and every 
other outdoor game must be avoided. But I think 
a coat of tan and a freckle or two are normal. I 
have no patience with the languishing, made-up 

[17] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

beauty; she is not much more human than a dress- 
maker's dummy. 

Play tennis if you wish a lithe, slim figure, a clear, 
healthy complexion, and a coordinated body and 
brain. 

The points in the woman's game are: 

i . Accuracy in placement. 

2. The development of the driving, base-line game as 
opposed to the net game. 

3. The accuracy and not the speed of the service. 

4. The conservation of energy. 

5. The grounding of the knowledge that a stroke is 
not well played unless the hall goes to the intended spot. 

6. As much speed as is consistent with accuracy. 



[■si 



CHAPTER II 

TAKING UP TENNIS 

I HAVE heard that one may learn to swim by 
being tossed overboard in deep water; possibly 
this is true, but I doubt if the stroke, thus franti- 
cally found, is the best stroke. One may also learn 
to play tennis by being shoved on to a court with a 
racquet and told to play; most people start in some 
such way. I did — and it took me some years to get 
rid of the faults which I at once fell into. I dis- 
covered purely individual ways of hitting the ball; 
they had the merit of originality. One needs pre- 
cious little originality in tennis. 

It saves an infinite amount of time to start right; 
the tennis genius may evolve a creditable game on her 
own account, but I am sure she would play a better 
game if she had first mastered fundamental play and 

[19] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

then put the genius play on the top of that. The be- 
ginner always executes a stroke in the least effective 
but most strength-absorbing way. When I began, 
my only idea was to hit the ball with all my might. I 
liked the game because it gave me a rare chance to hit 
something without being reprimanded. Sometimes 
the ball went into the net, more often it sailed yards 
away. I was tamed by my fellow players who in- 
sisted that I give some attention to the court lines. 

Finally — after perhaps three months — I had a 
professional teacher and started to learn to play 
tennis instead of the exhilarating game which I had 
founded. And it was ever so hard to give up the en- 
tirety of my own ideas. 

Have your own racquet from the very beginning; 
find one that exactly suits you in weight, balance, and 
grip. It pays to buy the best in racquets. I like the 
very tightly strung, fine gut — the fine gut gives more 
elasticity to the stroke, although it is not so economi- 
cal as the heavier stringing. I used thirteen new 
racquets during the 191 5 season and had five re- 

[20] 



TAKING UP TENNIS 

strung, but then I played all the time and often in 
soggy weather. I keep four racquets with me when I 
play. 

The shape of the head is a matter of individual 
taste, and any of the better makes have well-formed 
faces. 

When your racquet is not in use, keep it in a press. 
The frame must always be true, else the face of the 
racquet will have odd angles and the ball will fly off 
in all sorts of queer directions. 

I use a i3§-ounce racquet, which is heavy in the 
head and feels like a i4i-ounce one; I like the heavy 
head because it seems to give me greater power in my 
drives. I play a purely driving game; my arm is 
strong and I can handle the extra weight. Most 
players prefer an evenly balanced racquet, and prob- 
ably such is best for the beginner; one can afterward 
experiment a little on weights. Very few girls will do 
well to take a racquet heavier than 13J ounces; Mrs. 
Bundy, Mrs. Wightman, Miss Mary Browne, in fact 
all the best American women, use that weight; a few of 

[21] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

the English women go in for 14 ounces, but I think 
that is too heavy. A heavy racquet will quickly tire 
the forearm and slow up the play. Unless one is really 
very weak and slight, 1 3 ounces is a minimum weight. 

The size of the grip is very important; you can 
never learn to play unless you have an entirely com- 
fortable handle. I use a rather small handle — 5J 
inches in circumference — because I want my whole 
hand about the grip, but 5i inches is the usual size. 
Most dealers will find you a racquet to suit if you are 
persistent. 

A firm grip cannot be had unless the handle is dry 
during play; if your hands perspire it is well to wind 
the handle with tape. I am luckily not bothered in 
that way. 

Several ways of holding the racquet are in vogue; I 
think the "American" way is the best. It is as 
follows : 

Grasp the racquet at the very end, resting the butt 
against the base of the palm; many girls simply 
"grab" the handle about halfway up; they wonder 

[22] 




THE GRIP FOR THE FOREHAND DRIVE 

Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



TAKING UP TENNIS 
why they cannot control the ball. To get the proper 
leverage and freedom it is necessary to take the 
racquet at the very end. This grip may seem in- 
secure at first, but you will soon become accustomed 
to it. 

I use two grips: the first for forehand strokes and 
the second for backhand strokes. In the first grip 
the hand is simply closed around the handle with the 
thumb across. This is the grip which is used for all 
strokes excepting those on the backhand. The back- 
hand stroke requires a firmer grip, and therefore the 
thumb is moved out parallel with and pressing 
against the handle. The shift is an easy one and is 
made, almost unconsciously, as the racquet swings 
over for the backhand play. This is, I think, the 
easiest and the most natural grip; one strikes almost 
as though with the palm of the hand on the forehand 
strokes, while the thumb up the handle gives a 
definite firmness, without undue strain on the wrist, 
in the backhand strokes. Some players shift their 
grip slightly for the backhand, but I think this is un- 

[23] 



TENNIS FOR WOM EN 

necessary. I believe in keeping one's game of tennis, 
in so far as style is concerned, to the elementary 
principles. * 

In the English grip, the head of the racquet is 
above the wrist; the thumb is not carried up the 
handle for the backhand strokes. I should not at- 
tempt to enter the argument pro and con on the two 
styles. I like my own style, and I am quite sure that 
any girl will have a firmer and more delicate back- 
hand with the thumb up than with it around the 
handle. 

A few players grasp their racquets an inch or two 
above the butt of the handle, notably Mrs. Bundy 
and Miss Clare Cassell. Norman Brookes also plays 
with this sort of a grip, so it undoubtedly has the 
sanction of good company. But one needs all the 
reach to be had, and shortening the hold on the rac- 
quet only shortens the reach. 

Some players grip their handles with the same 
firmness throughout the whole game. I find that 
this tires me; I prefer to relax my grip between 

[2 4 ] 



TAKING UP TENNIS 

strokes and then close firmly as I swing for the ball. 
It is all a matter of choice except that the grip must 
be very firm when the ball is taken; if your racquet 
turns ever so little in your stroke, the control of the 
ball is lost. Thoroughly understand the holding of 
the racquet before you attempt to hit the ball; it is 
all very simple, but an awkward grip is difficult to 
lose if persisted in through only a few months. 

Having learned the grip, you will be ready to take 
up the strokes of tennis. It will be tiresome to go 
along methodically when it seems so easy simply to 
plunge into a game, but you cannot hope ever to play 
an acceptable game — a game which will give you even 
a decent amount of fun — unless you learn to handle 
yourself and your racquet. No one thinks of going 
into golf without instruction, but people imagine that 
tennis is inherent in them; correct tennis is inherent 
in no one — the correct swing and follow through of 
tennis is every whit as hard to acquire as the correct 
swing and follow through in golf. 

If a good professional tennis instructor may be 

[25] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

had, by all means engage him. But there are very 
few professionals in the United States, and only a 
limited number of players can avail themselves of 
their services. In the absence of a professional ask 
the best player you know to teach you. 

The teaching should not be in an actual game. 
You will not learn the strokes of tennis in a game. 
Get a supply of balls and have your instructor bounce 
them gently to you; hit the ball as it rises — just be- 
fore it reaches the top of the bound. 

Most players hit the ball as it descends; it is 
easier to hit it then, but you lose a deal of time in the 
return and give your opponent a chance to get into 
position. And if you do not learn to take the ball be- 
fore the top of the bounce when you first start to play 
you will never learn thereafter. I attribute much of 
my success in passing net players to the quickness of 
my returns; and the quickness is due solely to taking 
the ball before it has had time to descend. 

If two players were absolutely equal in skill and 
generalship, but the one hit the ball before the top of 

[26] 



TAKING UP TENNIS 

the bound and the other after, the player who hit the 
rising ball would surely win. She would be so much 
faster in her returns that she would be bound to 
win. 

Your practice should teach you how to swing your 
racquet and how to manage your body and feet. 
Once you have learned these elements you are ready 
to have balls tossed across the net to you to be hit 
back for direction. 

Take up one stroke at a time; first learn the fore- 
hand drive and then the backhand drive. Do not 
bother with the service until you have a very definite 
idea of the drives and can execute them with a fair 
degree of freedom and accuracy. 

A stroke in tennis is a blending of the whole weight 
and force of the body. The arm and the racquet are 
merely the means of communicating this force to the 
ball. You do not hit the ball with the strength of the 
arm : in a well-executed drive you will not use much 
of the arm. You will rather lean against the ball 
with your racquet. This stroke involves the right 

[27] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

movement of the feet and of the body, as well as the 
true, firm swing and follow through of the racquet. 
It is the perfect coordination of these elements rather 
than brute strength which gives speed to a tennis 
ball. 

These elementary principles must be learned before 
you start to play a game. If you start into com- 
petition too soon, you will forget the elements in the 
desire to win points; for it will take time to make 
correct form second nature, and in the hurry of the 
game you will try some slipshod stroke that seems 
good for the moment. 

I cannot too strongly emphasize the grounding of 
the elements. Once you have the ideas of the stroke, 
you can gain much good practice hitting the ball 
against a smooth wall or fence. The late Anthony 
Wilding perfected all of his strokes alone; he would 
work for hours and days on the one stroke, striking 
the ball against a wall. He was not a natural player; 
he acquired his form and skill solely through the 
hardest sort of practice. 

[28] 



TAKING UP TENNIS 

Another excellent feature of the wall practice is 
that it teaches keeping the eye on the ball. 

Keep your eye on the ball ! It is quite as important 
in tennis as in golf. No stroke can be well or accu- 
rately made unless you have your eye glued to the 
ball from the very moment it leaves the opponent's 
racquet. Many players fail miserably simply because 
they do not obey this principle. Unless you have your 
eye on the ball, you will misjudge its flight and be 
caught off balance when you come to make the stroke. 

Do not say, "Oh, bother, I'll pick up all these 
things as I go along." You will not pick them up 
unless you start with them as principles. You can- 
not build a game without a foundation any more than 
you can build a house without a foundation. You 
must have something to work on. 

I have spoken of strokes and mentioned several 

kinds of strokes, but I have not yet described them. 

Strokes are divided broadly into ground strokes, in 

which the ball is hit after it has bounced, and volley 

strokes, where the ball is hit before it has touched the 

[29] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

ground. These are again divided into forehand and 
backhand strokes. The forehand strokes are those 
hit on the right, while the backhand strokes are hit 
on the left of a right-handed player. 

A "drive" is a ground stroke hit low over the net; 
it should have speed. 

A "lob" is a ground stroke hit high into the air to 
bound in the back of the court; it may also be made 
on the volley, but it is rarely so made. 

The "service" is the stroke which starts the ball 
into play. The many kinds of service will be taken 
up in a later chapter. 

The "smash" is a very hard volley to "kill" the 
ball for an " ace," or unreturnable ball. 

The "half -volley" is a pick-up of the ball as it 
touches the ground and is more of a ground stroke 
than a volley. 

The "chop" is a ball hit with a back-spin that 
drops almost dead as it touches the ground. 

The "cut ball" is a ball with a twist which causes 
it to bounce off at an angle. 

[30] 



TAKING UP TENNIS 
/. Select your racquet carefully. 

2. Have a professional teacher if you can possibly 
find a good one. 

3. Learn the swing, body and foot movement of the 
drive before you play a game. 

4. Start right — and you will have less to unlearn 
later. 



[31] 



CHAPTER III 

THE STROKES THAT WIN — THE DRIVES 

THE drives — forehand and backhand — are 
easily the most important strokes in tennis. 
You may learn any number of trick plays, 
you may have a splendid service, but if you cannot 
drive hard and accurately, you will never be a real 
tennis player. For every ace that you win with the 
spectacular smash or the lightning service, you will 
win a dozen aces with the homely drive. 

The drive is the foundation of the woman's game 
of tennis; you can be a first-class player knowing only 
the two drives. Neither Mrs. Bundy nor myself can 
really do anything but drive. It is different with the 
men; the first flight of players must know the whole 
game. It is enough for the woman to drive equally 
well on both hands. 

[32] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

Therefore learn to drive! Perhaps I place too 
much stress on the drives, but I think most players 
will agree with me that no adequate woman's game 
can ever be built up on a foundation other than the 
drive. Driving is my game; I am quite sure that at 
least twenty girls in this country could beat me if I 
tried to play a net game, while, on the other hand, if I 
were forbidden ever to volley, my game would not 
noticeably lose in strength. 

But driving is more than merely getting the ball 
back across the net: the true drive sends the ball 
swiftly and surely to an exactly predetermined place 
in the court. It is the easiest stroke to play and the 
hardest stroke to play well. Good driving demands 
the utmost in coordination, for it demands a precise 
combination of arm, foot, body, and eye. Hence it 
is that good drivers are scarce among both men and 
women. And, when you come to the backhand drive, 
you will find few women who are not weak. 

Any one may be a good driver if she takes the 
trouble to learn the stroke and then constantly to 

[33] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

practise it. Most women are weak on their back- 
hands because they will not practise; they will run 
around a ball in order to take it on the forehand in- 
stead of steadily using the backhand, until they gain 
confidence. 

The principles of both drives are identical: they 
are both made by facing the line of the flight of the 
ball — that is, standing with one's side to the net — 
with the weight of the body resting on the foot 
farthest away from the oncoming ball. Then the 
ball is taken with a long sweep of the racquet, the 
body going forward with the racquet so that, at the 
time of impact with the ball, the weight of the body is 
added to the force of the racquet; the finish finds one 
on the foot opposite to that on which the stroke be- 
gan. In all drives the body should be going forward 
as the stroke is made; a flat-footed drive or a drive 
made when leaning backward will lack both force and 
direction. It is the coordination of the body and the 
arm which gives the speed. 

The ball should be taken in the centre of the face of 

[34] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

the racquet, where the elasticity is greatest. The 
racquet should be nearly horizontal and straight out 
in the line of the arm. Therefore you will bend over 
to drive low balls, rather than scoop them up with a 
vertical racquet. 

As you swing back your racquet, tighten your grip 
and firmly control the racquet with your wrist. The 
wrist will control direction, and a slight snap of the 
wrist as the ball is taken adds crispness to the stroke. 
Only practice will teach you just how much the 
wrist determines the direction of the ball. You 

should "feel" the ball. 

And, as in every stroke, keep your eye on the ball. 

It is not possible to hit cleanly unless you see the ball 
through every part of the stroke. When you see a 
ball, it loses all mystery; otherwise you will wonder 
why a perfectly planned shot went off quite contrary 
to the plans. Keeping the eye on the ball is not as 
easy as it sounds; you are tempted to look at your 
opponent, and you will probably look at her in spite 
of all your good intentions, but certainly in practice 

[35] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

you can devote yourself exclusively to watching the 
ball. If you do not watch the ball in practice you 
will not watch it in a game. 

The drive comes down to getting the right position 
before the stroke and the right swing in its execution; 
you cannot attain the true swing unless you have the 
proper position. 

Here is the way that I play the forehand drive, 
which is the most useful stroke in tennis; it is the 
stroke with which you return practically all of the 
ground balls that come on your right hand; it is a 
stroke that you must master if you are to play even a 
passable game; and its mastery is purely a matter of 
care and practice. 

This drive is made with a free, hard swing carried 
all the way through. Take a position facing the 
plane of the oncoming ball; keep your eye on the 
ball; rest your weight on your right foot and, as the 
ball rises from the ground, swing back your racquet 
until it is well behind you; poise an instant on your 
balance and then swing the racquet around so that it 

[36] 




P^'-r--- i; Tf'il'.or. : s Post, Col. 
THE FINISH OF THE FOREHAND DRIVE 
Mrs Thomas M. Bundv 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

will catch the ball just before it reaches the top of the 
bounce. As the racquet comes in contact with the 
ball, incline its face slightly downward; carry the 
stroke through until your racquet is straight across 
your body. At the moment of impact of racquet and 
ball, your body should be going forward; at the finish 
you will be leaning forward with your weight on your 
left foot. 

The distance at which you should stand from the 
ball depends upon your reach; you should be far 
enough away to meet the ball comfortably with out- 
stretched arm. 

The inclination of the racquet gives a top spin 
which brings a hard-hit ball down near the base 
line. Without the spin the ball would fly out of the 
court. 

You will notice that the body assists the arm at the 
point of contact : in fact, the stroke is a kind of swing- 
ing into the ball with the whole force of your arm and 
body, and this whole force will not be effective unless 
the ball is taken when it is opposite or even a little 

[37] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

past you. If you hit the ball too soon, you must go 
far forward and thus lose the momentum of your 
body. 

A hard forehand drive requires a certain amount of 
strength, but no more strength than the average girl 
possesses if she so times her stroke as to utilize every 
ounce of power. Long driving in golf is not a matter 
of strength and neither is hard driving in tennis; it is 
all in the timing. 

I strongly recommend the slight top spin, because 
it enables one to keep the hard-hit ball in the court. 
The top spin is in the direction of the ball and there- 
fore does not work against speed. If you can keep 
the ball in court without the top spin, so much the 
better, but I cannot do so. 

The backhand does not admit of quite so free a 
motion as the forehand and it brings into play 
muscles which one is not accustomed to use. There- 
fore it seems very difficult at the beginning. It 
baffles many players because it seems hard to hit the 
ball effectively with the arm across the body; as a 

[38] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 
matter of fact it is a simple enough stroke — no 
harder to learn than the forehand drive. 

Of how many girls do you hear the remark, " She 
is weak on her backhand!" In fact, most girls are 
vulnerable on the returns sent on their left or back- 
hand, but they would be nearly as strong backhand 
as forehand if only they would study the stroke — and 
practise. It is hard to attain the same force with the 
backhand as with the forehand drive, for the position 
of body and arm is not advantageous, but a very 
strong ball can be delivered. 

The movements of the backhand drive are the re- 
verse of the forehand, but the stroke is governed by 
precisely the same principles. You face the plane of 
the ball with your right shoulder instead of your left 
toward the net; your weight is balanced on the left 
instead of the right foot. As the ball comes up, 
swing your racquet back across your body, shifting 
your thumb to support the grip. Poise a moment 
and then come through with the racquet and body, 
the inclined racquet face meeting the ball before it 

[39] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 
has reached the top of the bound. Follow your 
stroke through until your arm is at least straight out; 
you will then be resting on your right foot. 

A good player will play upon your left or backhand 
in the hope that you will make a weak return. Many 
girls attempt to run around the ball in order to use 
their stronger forehand drive; if they do get around it 
is almost certain that they will be out of position and 
make their return hurriedly and ineffectively. There- 
fore it is very important to gain strength with the 
backhand strokes so that you can take the necessary 
time to make sure of the return. I have seen girls 
desperately clutch the racquet with both hands in 
an effort to steady it for a shot which they had con- 
vinced themselves was very difficult. 

Slightly more strength is needed for the backhand 
strokes than for the forehand, because the motions 
bring in little-used muscles, but proper timing is 
again the real essential. Use your weight and 
strength at just the right moment and you will get 
more pace than an awkward giantess. 

[40] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

The footwork and the swing of the drives will not 
be learned in actual play; they must be tediously 
acquired by long practice in which only the two 
strokes are used. Here it is that playing the ball 
against a wall or fence will be useful if you cannot 
find a partner who is willing to give up the time to tap 
balls to you. It often helps much in the develop- 
ment of one's game to find a girl who also wants 
practice in driving; then you can take opposite sides 
of the net and drive to each other by the hour. 

The best drives are made with some deliberation; 
it is always well to pause in the back swing for a 
fraction of a second to sort of " get together." Then 
you can come through with a splendid sweep. 

"But I have all that I can do to reach the ball; I 
am glad enough to hit it without bothering to take a 
position/' says a player. 

Deliberation and position are comparative mat- 
ters, but if you play carefully you will find that you 
can reach most balls in time to return them in form. 
Getting to the ball is often a matter of strategy, but 

[41] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

reaching the ball in a position to drive carefully is due 
to clever footwork; you can discover by careful 
practice just the foot to start on to bring you to the 
forehand drive with the left foot out and to the back- 
hand drive with the right foot out. When dancing 
you manage your feet with at least a casual regard to 
formality; certainly you will not let them care for 
themselves, although after a time they do care for 
themselves without conscious attention. It is quite 
the same in the footwork of tennis; you will go to- 
ward a ball remembering just how your feet must be 
placed when you reach it; and if you diligently pay 
attention to these positions they will soon become 
second nature to you. The drive cannot be executed 
without the aid of the body, and the body will not do 
its work unless the feet are so placed as to permit it 
to go forward with the swing of the racquet. And 
you must be equally careful not to run into the ball so 
that you will not have the room properly to swing. 
The body swing can be overdone to such a degree 
that one leaps at the ball; I have seen many pictures 

[42] 




Photograph by Paul Thompson 
FINISH OF THE FOREHAND DRIVE 
Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

of myself and I have also seen pictures of Mrs. Bundy 
with both feet off the ground at the crest of a drive. 
This is due to over-eagerness and is a rather bad 
fault, for it leaves one out of position for a quick re- 
turn; it is hard not to pounce at a fairly bouncing 
ball, but one loses rather than gains pace by taking 
it in mid-air. Of course it is spectacular, but aerial 
tennis is not good tennis and should not be imi- 
tated. 

The starting of the swing well before the point of 
impact and the following through with the racquet 
long after the ball has been sent away are essentially 
involved in every well-hit drive. You cannot con- 
trol the pace and direction of the ball with a mere 
poke of the racquet : the drive will only go away clean 
and sweet after the long and sustained swing. Opin- 
ions differ on just how long this swing should be. I 
go through nearly three-quarters of a circle on a hard 
drive, but a half -circle is quite enough, the ball being 
hit in the middle of the arc. It is far better to swing 
too much than too little; the longer swing does no 

[43] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

harm, and you may find that you have better control 
with the very full follow through. 

The swing and footwork having been passably 
attained, practise for length and direction. 

A drive should bounce very near to the base line to 
be effective; that keeps your opponent in back court 
and gives you a far better chance for a sizzling return 
to a corner. 

What is accuracy? If you can come within a foot 
of any given point at the back of the court, either on 
the side lines or the base line, you are accurate. Mrs. 
Lambert Chambers, who is one of the hardest drivers 
I have ever seen, can consistently cut the side lines 
toward the back of the court; she continuously makes 
shots which, with the average player, would be 
merely luck. And she never drives herself off her 
feet. 

After accuracy, go in for speed; the harder you can 
drive, the more points you will win. Hit every ball 
with all your might. For a time you will lose some- 
thing of accuracy. Accuracy must not be sacrificed to 

[44] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

speed, but you will get the accuracy back if you count 
every shot a bad one that does not go to the place 
that you intended. 

Speed is essential if you are going to place a return 
where an active opponent will not reach it; that is the 
purpose of speed. It is no harder to return a fast 
ball than a slow one, but the fast ball is harder to 
reach, because you do not have the time. There- 
fore you will not only need speed, but you should try 
to send the ball just over the net so that it will travel 
the shortest distance to the point at which you aim. 
If the net is only half an inch too high, it throws me 
off my drive. The whole idea of tennis is to send the 
ball quickly to a given point; obviously you will 
select the shortest route to that point and propel the 
ball with all possible speed. 

I have no patience with the gentle drives which 
majestically describe tall parabolas. 

Under no circumstances favor your backhand; it 
is just as important to have a good backhand as to 
have a good forehand. If you start running around 

[45] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

balls to take them on the forehand, you are in a fair 
way never to learn the game. When I began to play, 
my backhand was considerably stronger than my 
forehand; I do not know whether it is weaker or 
stronger now. When I first played in the United 
States I was said to have a very weak backhand, al- 
though I found little trouble in winning from those 
who played to my backhand. In my last match 
with Mrs. Bundy she played my forehand in pref- 
erence to my backhand. Mrs. Wightman's back- 
hand is stronger than her forehand, while Mrs. 
Bundy' s backhand is considerably slower than her 
forehand. 

Mrs. Bundy is the hardest driver among American 
girls, but I think Miss Mary Browne has the best 
driving form; she drives equally well from either hand 
and she never goes into the air. Both Mrs. Bundy 
and Miss Browne are very accurate drivers: they 
can place the ball within a few inches of where they 
want it. Miss Marie Wagner drives extremely well 
in practice, but is not so severe in her matches. 

[46] 



THE STROKES THAT WIN 

Mrs. Cole (Miss Ann Sheafe) drives a splendid ball 
when at the top of her game, but she goes off easily 
and becomes very erratic. 

The drives which I have described in this chapter 
are plain, straight drives with a slight top spin. 
Once mastered, the player will have all the driving 
game she can possibly require. Other ways of driv- 
ing are in vogue, and these I shall take up in a later 
chapter, but I feel that any one who conquers the 
straight drive is a good tennis player — without more. 

/. Face the plane of the hall with your side turned 
toward the net. 

2. Swing your racquet well hack before hitting, 
and follow through after the ball is hit with a steady, 
firm swing that goes through at least half a circle. 

3. Start your stroke on the foot farthest away from 
the ball and finish on the other foot, going forward as 
the hit is made. 

4. Coordinate the full weight of your body and the 
power of your arm at the moment of impact of racquet 
and ball. 

[47] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

5. Train your feet so that they will always he in 
proper position when you reach the point where you 
intend to make the stroke. 

6. Do not smother your stroke by getting too close 
to the ball. 

j. Make your backhand strokes as confidently as 
your forehand; never avoid the use of the backhand. 

8. Hard drives are the result of perfect coordination, 
not brute strength. 

p. Watch the ball. 



[48] 



CHAPTER IV 

ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS — THE SERVICE 

THE service is the stroke which puts the ball 
into play. One has the advantage of mak- 
ing the stroke at leisure from the most con- 
venient position, but, on the other hand, the ball must 

be placed within the boundaries of the service court, 
and, when you take the net into consideration, the area 
into which the ball can practically be placed is quite 
small. I think the advantage of a deliberate delivery 
is offset by the restricted striking area and the con- 
sequent readiness of the opponent for the return. 

Many players think of the service only as a wide- 
open chance to score; they forget that the limitations 
on the striking place of the ball go far toward negativ- 
ing the opportunity. They bend their whole effort 
toward putting a speedy, jumping ball over in the 
hope of scoring a service ace. 

[49] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

Service aces are not to be sneered at. I know no 
more delicious feeling than that which comes after 
scoring a clean service ace; one's conceit is then un- 
bounded. And I do not wonder that the mental 
balance is disturbed. 

I have known many girls who sacrifice their whole 
game for the pleasure of an occasional service ace; I 
have seen them practise the service day after day 
when they were entirely without adequate drives. 
This does not pay. If you develop a very fine serv- 
ice, you will undoubtedly score many aces against 
the poorer players, but you will not terrify the better 
players; and probably your whole game will be upset 
when you find that your finest services are being re- 
turned to you with a little interest added to the pace. 
The "service" player usually so throws herself out 
of position with the hard service that she is unable to 
meet a swift return of one of her best deliveries; she is 
apt to be lost in wonder while the return slips by her 
for the point. 

If you will examine the point scores of the women's 

[50] 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

matches, you will find very few service aces. And, 
going farther into the scores, you will discover that 
the women who do score on the first service also give 
away about as many points through double faults. 
Too much luck enters into their games; each service 
resolves itself into a toss-up for the point — they may 
gain it or they may give it away. 

I have yet to find a service that really bothered me 
on account of its pace; no matter how hard the women 
try, they cannot serve a ball which compares in pace 
with the service of the first ten among the men, and 
even the service of these men is very far from being 
unplayable. You will not find the men scoring 
heavily on service aces against the women in the 
mixed doubles; and, of course, you always receive 
just as hard a ball as the server knows how to 
deliver. It is so extremely annoying to be favored 
on the service that few men will attempt to do 
so. 

I have played against many of the best services; 
they are hard to handle at first, but once one has dis- 

[51] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

covered where to stand the return is not extraordina- 
rily difficult. 

If such services can be returned, what chance has 
the woman to put over an unreturnable ball? 

The undue concentration on the service robs the 
player not only of strength but of the real backbone 
of her game — the play after the service in which the 
drives make so large a part. If you play a net 
game, you will follow in on your service, and there- 
fore the dash to the net may well begin from the for- 
ward position in which the strenuous service leaves 
the server; but very few of the girls who play net go 
in on their service. Hence they are simply left off 
balance for the first return. 

But the strongest objections to the very swift 
service for women is that it is both inaccurate and 
fatiguing. If you put your entire strength into the 
service you must lose something of control, unless 
you are a most exceptional person; it is not possible 
to make a hard slam with the same delicacy as a 
stroke well within your strength. At least half of the 

[52] 




Photograph by Edzvin Levick, N. Y 
THE SERVICE OF MRS. GEORGE W. W1GHTMAN 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

first balls of the hard servers go into the net or out of 
the court; then they must decide between another 
slam with the chance of a double fault or make an 
entire change of style to deliver a slow ball which may 
be easily killed. The slow ball is hard to control 
after the vigorous attempt of the first service. Fast 
service and double faults always go together. 

If the fast service were effective — and it is not — 
the tension of it draws too heavily on the strength of 
a woman. It is useless to start off like a whirlwind 
and collapse toward the end of the second set. A 
woman's tournament match goes to the winner of 
two out of three sets, and you must adopt a game 
that will admit of playing through three sets, for you 
will seldom win the stiff matches in straight sets. A 
hard service takes more out of one than a hard drive, 
for you are not only hitting against a dead ball but 
you are climbing up into the air to do so. 

I think that every player will find that it pays to 
serve well within strength and to give more attention 
to place than to speed. It also helps wonderfully to 

[53] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

change pace, especially if you can do it with ap- 
parently the same motions that send off the faster 
ball. By playing to your opponent's weakness with 
an occasional quick variation to her strength you 
will gain more service aces than by mere undirected 
speed. Very few aces result only from pace. 

I cannot see any advantage in the reverse twist or 
other complex services unless they are played super- 
latively well. By exercising patience, the complex 
service is nearly as easy to return as any other service. 
There are many variations of the service; by hitting 
the ball a glancing blow, spins and twists are imparted 
which result in curves and breaks. These curves and 
unexpected directions in the bounce are most discon- 
certing when first met. But the spin of the ball 
which produces such results is against speed, and, if 
the service is very slow, the striker has but to await 
the end of the gyrations. The complex service must 
be fast to be effective; great speed requires great 
strength. 

I use only the straight service, and I do not 

[54] 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

recommend taking the time to master the more diffi- 
cult styles. The ability to mix up several varieties 
and keep the opponent uncomfortably guessing is 
valuable, and the best men players have this ability, 
but I know no woman with the needed strength and 
endurance. 

In the ordinary straight service a deceptive "shoot' ' 
may be had on certain courts by getting high over the 
ball and hitting down, but this is not a special service. 

The ordinary complex services are the "reverse 
twist" and what is known abroad as the "American 
service." 

On the "reverse twist" the ball spins away to the 
left and curves in to the right, continuing the curve 
as the ball hits the ground. The server practically 
draws his racquet across the ball from left to right; 
the ball is not thrown high and there is no downward 
hit to the racquet ; the arm is bent and the racquet is 
more or less perpendicular at the moment of impact. 
It is almost impossible to put much pace into the ball, 
and the delivery is very tiring. 

[55] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

In the "American service" the ball first curves out 
to the right of the server, and then in to his left, but 
breaks again to the right when it strikes the ground. 

The " reverse American service" curls first left, then 
right, and breaks left. The curls and breaks run the 
striker outside the court in the attempt to make the 
return. 

The American service requires much practice to per- 
form at all, and an almost infinite amount of work to 
acquire control and speed. The ball is thrown well up 
to the left of the head and the racquet is brought 
across from the left hand under side of the ball to the 
right-hand upperside. The " reverse" goes in the op- 
posite direction. 

I do not go more fully into these services because 
they are practically impossible to attain without the 
best of instruction. 

Many players act as though tennis were mostly 
service. I notice Americans highly value an unre- 
turnable service. 

A man may develop a service which will win many 

[56] 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

aces; a strong man is able to put great speed into a 
single stroke and maintain that speed throughout a 
match. I have never known a woman who could 
serve so hard that a good player could not return the 
ball. The hard service unduly exhausts. To my 
mind, it does not pay. I would rather devote my- 
self to the strokes after the service. 

I put a reasonable amount of speed into my serv- 
ice, but I do not make a supreme effort. I hit the 
ball hard to a definite point in the court. If my first 
ball is a fault, I serve the second ball more easily. I 
think it more important to take my chance of win- 
ning the point in the rally rather than to risk it in 
another hard service which probably will not score 
an ace anyway. 

I think my service is the best service for most girls. 
I stand back of the middle point of the base line. 
There is no advantage in standing far at one side in an 
effort to send the service at an inconvenient angle. 

I rest my weight on the right foot, the balls are in 
my left hand, and the racquet is swinging at my side. 

[57] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

I notice the position of my opponent and locate the 
best spot to send the ball. Then I toss the ball into 
the air well above my head, although not so high as 
many players, and, swinging my racquet back over 
my head, hit down hard on the ball, at the same time 
going forward with my body so that I end the stroke 
resting on my left foot, thus adding the weight of the 
body to the strength of the arm. 

When the racquet comes in contact with the ball, 
the face is inclined downward; I continue my stroke 
entirely through, and my racquet finishes in almost 
the same position that it started. This is the " follow 
through" which is so important for pace and direction. 

I never serve until I am entirely ready and properly 
balanced. At the finish I am balanced, although on 
the left foot; it is a mistake to hit so hard that one is 
taken off balance at the finish. 

This service is very simple and it answers all my 
needs. I find no use for an elaborate "cut" or other 
fancy service. I depend on reasonable speed and 
good direction. 

[58] 




Photograph by Brown Bros. 
THE BEGINNING OF THE SERVICE 
Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

Every player, as she progresses, will discover in- 
dividual points at which she can improve her service, 
and it is well to try out with various professional 
coaches or men players of experience. For instance, 
the height to throw the ball varies; some like to throw 
it very high indeed — six or eight feet — while others 
can serve best with a tiny toss. The physical make- 
up and disposition of the player determines the 
tossing height; I should become nervous if I tossed 
the ball very high and waited expectantly for its fall. 
At the same time it is not well to take the ball only 
shoulder high, for then the chance of a net or an out 
is much increased by the small angle which the flight 
of the ball makes to the ground. 

The strength of the second service is also a point 
much in dispute; many players insist that the second 
service should go over at the same pace as the first, 
but I do not agree with such theories in the woman's 
game. I do not know a single woman player, here or 
abroad, who attempts the second service with the 
same speed as the first. A man would likely kill an 

[59] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

easy second service, but the average woman will not, 
and therefore the chances of losing the point through 
the fast return are less than the chances of making a 
double fault. One has at least a fight for the ace on 
the easier second serve, while a double fault is throw- 
ing the point away. But, in any event, the second 
service should have good length; a short, high-bounc- 
ing ball invites a smash while the easy long ball will 
not bring more than a hard drive in return. It makes 
for accuracy to deliver the second ball with just the 
same motion as the first; the change should be in the 
pace. 

There are few really good servers among women. 
Miss Florence Ballin serves one of the hardest balls, 
and Mrs. Bundy one of the easiest; Mrs. Frederick 
Schmitz has a very swift and well-controlled service; 
Miss Marie Wagner and Miss Alberta Weber both 
have excellent speed and control. Mrs. Wightman 
lacks pace, but she is wonderfully accurate; she 
probably scores more service aces than any other 
first-class player. When playing against her it is 

[60] 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

never safe to take a position simply because two or 
three services have struck in a certain place; she is 
very apt to draw you to one side and then shoot the 
ball down the middle line. Mrs. Marshall McLean 
is also an accurate server who perfectly commands 
pace. Very few women can change pace without 
so advertising the fact by their motions that all 
effect of the change is lost, but Mrs. McLean will 
send two or three fairly hard balls and then with the 
same motion deliver one that just struggles over the 
net. Her service, because of this change of pace, is 
most deceptive. 

Probably it would be a good thing to have several 
ways of serving the ball. Mrs. Lambert Chambers, 
now and again, uses the underhand service, which is 
as decidedly disconcerting as a shift from the over- 
head. But there are so many things to learn in ten- 
nis — one is never through learning the simple drives 
— that I doubt if any girl can frankly claim to have 
so mastered the elements that she can afford to learn 

more than a single style of service. 

[61] 



TENNIS FOR WOM EN 

Mrs. Barger-Wallach is the only woman here who 
uses the underhand service; she manages it well be- 
cause she is very accurate, but it is not a service to 
commend. More power and control can be had from 
the overhead, and it takes very little more strength. 

No service is good unless it is controlled. You 
must master the ball; speed is desirable, but, above 
all, cultivate accuracy. A wild, smashing service 
will have no terrors if it is in a nice convenient spot 
for the best stroke of your opponent. 

When serving, stand in the middle of the court 
back of the base line; be careful not to cross the line 
on delivery or you will have a foot-fault called on 
you. Many officials do not pay much attention to 
foot-faulting, but if you cultivate a style in which 
foot-faulting is frequent, a strict official will entirely 
unsettle your game. 

If you have never before played your opponent, 
try her until you find what she likes least. Give her 
that ball continuously until she can handle it; then 
try something new. 

[62] 



ACES OR DOUBLE FAULTS 

It is usually well to start serving on the backhand, 
for most girls have weak backhands. If you are 
serving into the left-hand court, make your ball cut 
the outside line. Your opponent will have to run 
outside the court for the return; possibly she will take 
a position far over in order to get in her forehand 
stroke. If she does so or starts to run over when the 
ball leaves your racquet, shoot the next service down 
the centre line. Keep mixing and be careful that 
your position before delivery does not betray the 
destination of the ball. Some girls tell you by their 
movements exactly where the next service is coming. 
Control your service; you may not score an ace on 
service, but the return may come over so feebly and 
the striker be so far off balance that you can easily 
score with a hard side-line or cross-court drive. 

An occasional variation of speed and length is de- 
sirable, but be wary of the slow ball against a good 
opponent; she will do as she likes with it and probably 
score. I have never had much success with change 
of pace excepting against players of slight ability. I 

[6 3 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

prefer always to hit the ball hard and trust to posi- 
tion. 

Once you have served, do not let your impetus 
take you into the court unless you are playing the net 
game. Stand behind the base line to await the re- 
turn, with your eye always on the ball. Then return 
as the play warrants. 

/ . Do not make the service your whole game. 

2. Practise the slow service until you can put the 
hall anywhere you like, then add speed. 

3. Play well within yourself; do not put every ounce 
you have into the service or you will tire before the match 
ends. 

4. Stand at the centre of the base line and far enough 
behind not to go over it until you have hit the ball. Do 
not cultivate afoot-faulting style. 

5. Toss the ball at least several feet above your head. 

6. Get well over the ball for your stroke and hit down. 

7. // you decide to go in for the complex services or 
the services of great speed, keep careful tabs to discover 
whether or not they pay you. 

[64] 




AT THE FINISH OF THE SERVICE 

Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



CHAPTER V 

THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

IN THE volley and the smash — which is only a 
very hard, killing volley — the ball is hit before 
the bounce. Because the ball is hit in the air, 
time is saved; every stroke which saves time is a good 
stroke, for it gives that much less opportunity for an 
opponent to recover position. 

But, insofar as the woman's game is concerned, 
the volley should be considered as a stroke and not as 
a style of play; it is a most valuable adjunct to the 
drive in singles and is indispensable in doubles. The 
force of the volley and much of the placement is lost 
unless the ball is hit while it is above the top line of 
the net. Therefore the successful volleys are made 
close to net: I think ten feet is nearly a maximum 
distance. You must reach a point very close to 

[6 5 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

the net if you expect to have luck with the vol- 
ley. 

Covering the width of the court at the net is a very 
different matter from covering the court at the base 
line. At the base line you have a chance to watch 
the flight of the ball, move to position, and then make 
the return, more or less leisurely, from the bounce. 
At the net you flash from point to point or you are 
passed for an ace. A splendid eye that can take the 
ball the second it leaves the opponent's racquet, 
lightning speed in getting into position, and a good 
reach, are among the requisites for the net game. 
Instead of crossing the court at the base line, the net 
player must travel from the base line to the net with 
all speed, circulate to and fro across the net, and 
make occasional sprints back to the base line to re- 
cover high lobs. 

Three sets from the base line take quite enough out 

of a girl without doubling the work by trying to play 

net. One very seldom finds a girl who can last 

through three sets of net play against a strong back- 

[66] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 
court player. It is not the woman's game; it asks 
more activity and more stamina than any woman 
that I have yet discovered possesses. 

The best exponents of net players in this country 
are Mrs. Wightman, Miss Eleanora Sears, and Miss 
Mary Browne. Mrs. Wightman can take almost any 
sort of a ball at the net — it is fatal to try to drive her 
back by a swift ball directly at her — but she cannot 
go three hard sets of such play. She wears herself 
out if her opponent is clever enough to make her run 
through the first set. 

Many, many girls ruin perfectly good games by 
attempting to volley when they should stay back 
and drive. They watch the men fighting for the net 
and they think tennis begins and ends with the 
mastery of the net. If you can cover the whole 
court from the net position, by all means play net; 
but getting three out of five balls is not mastery; a 
temporary mastery — say through a dozen games — 
until fatigue wins, is also not a satisfactory style to 
depend upon. 

[6 7 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

The women abroad do not go in much for the 
volley; they seldom volley in doubles — where the 
volley is absolutely necessary. Many of the best 
players will not even take a fair chance to kill a slow, 
high ball. This is going too far. The best use of 
the volley will be found somewhere between the two 
extremes. 

I think the volley should be reserved for the periods 
when one has an opponent in trouble. If you have 
her very much tangled up so that she barely makes a 
return, I favor going to the net and making sure of 
the point with a quick, well-placed volley. 

I consider the volley as a most important adjunct 
to the ground game, but I do not rate it with the 
drives. I depend on the ground strokes and only 
come in to volley when a good opportunity offers. 

The volley is a time-saving stroke, because the ball 

is taken in full flight, but it is not of much use unless 

you can place it as you would any other return. And 

it takes quick thinking and quick muscles to volley to 

position. 

[68] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

The principles of the volley are comparatively 
simple. Take the ball as close to the net as possible, 
hit down and deep into the court. It is manifestly 
easier to send the ball to a definite place in the op- 
ponent's court if you meet it when high in the air and 
near to the net; such a position practically eliminates 
the net from consideration and your only problem is 
to strike down to any point you fancy. The volley 
must be deep or you lose the advantage of the quick 
return and give your opponent ample time to get it on 
the bounce. 

The treatment of a volley depends upon the 
amount of time you have and the height of the ball. 
In the case of a high ball — anything shoulder-high 
which you can see in flight — hit with a sharp stroke. 
The lower arriving balls are not hit but are sort of 
pushed, the force of the push depending upon the 
speed of the ball ; a very swift ball will go back of its 
own force. 

In the case of a low volley, do not be afraid to bend 
over; take the ball with a horizontal racquet; it is 

[69] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

very hard to make such a low ball clear the net if the 
racquet is vertical; it is best to have the head of the 
racquet above the wrist. 

The tendency of the ball when volleyed is to strike 
down into the net, and this danger increases with the 
distance from the net. Unless you are absolutely 
caught and cannot get back for the bounce, do not 
take a full ball behind the service line unless it be high 
overhead. Very few players are able to volley ac- 
curately from such a position; and you should never 
be in such a position, anyway, from choice. 

Inclining the face of the racquet slightly back — 
" bevelling," it is called — helps to keep the ball out of 
the net; the ball will likely come toward you with a 
slight top spin because most strokes impart, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, a top spin in greater or less 
degree. The inclined racquet checks the spin and 
hangs the ball in the air until the net is crossed. 

The volley is not a stroke in the sense of having a 
swing and follow through; it is rather a flick of the 
forearm and wrist, and hence it is as easy to make 

[70] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

backhand as forehand. Sometimes, when hurried, 
very near to the net, it is only necessary to get the 
face of the racquet before the ball ; then the speed of 
the ball will take it back. 

In every case the racquet should be held very 
firmly, for the slightest quiver will destroy the stroke. 
And always run into a volley — do not back away 
from the ball. Firmness is requisite, and firmness 
will not be had when leaning backward. 

A smash is a powerfully executed volley which you 
expect to be non-returnable because of its speed and 
placement. Every hard-hit ball is not a smash and 
every smash is not point winning. But you al- 
ways expect your smash to win or to be returned 
so feebly as to give another smashing chance for 
score. 

It must be remembered that a smash is a stroke 
and not a style of play; it is such a delightful sen- 
sation to hit a ball with all one's might that the 
temptation is to smash everything. Many points 
are thrown away by smashes which go sailing beyond 

[71] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

the court. The safe rule in smashing is not to at- 
tempt more than you can put through. 

When to smash depends upon the player and the 
circumstances; a few men players can smash any ball, 
but a girl will do well to smash only the balls that 
seem piteously to invite a killing stroke to put them 
out of misery. Such balls are the "pops" and the 
short lobs by a player out of balance and position. 
As you progress in the game, you will find more and 
more chances to smash in matches against weaker 
players, but the better players do not give so many 
openings, and smashing is largely confined to lobs and 
flukes. 

It is essential in order to smash that you follow the 
flight of the ball and thus get a full, straight down- 
ward swing into which goes the full weight of your 
body; the short lobs make ideal smashing subjects. 
There is little difficulty in the smash excepting with 
the deep lobs. The smashing of high, deep lobs re- 
quires practice, and the stroke is seldom very ef- 
fective, because the long carry takes away a deal of 

[72] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

the force of the ball and makes it comparatively easy 
to return. 

A smash should be placed; it is not just a crash at 
the ball. Aim to send the ball, with terrific speed, 
either straight at your opponent, or, better, down a 
side line or cross court. In general it should strike 
deep into the court, and, being hit straight from 
above, it bounces very high and at a sharp angle. 

Put all your strength into a smash; you are after 
the point on one stroke, and it takes strength to 
"kill." 

The half-volley is a ground stroke, because the ball 
actually hits the ground, but the racquet is put to the 
ball so quickly that the result is something of a cross 
between a ground stroke and a volley. A very few 
players, notably Mrs. Lambert Chambers and Mr. 
R. Norris Williams, actually use the stroke as a part 
of their play. With most players it is a stroke of 
desperation and more often fails than succeeds. 

One need never use the half-volley unless caught 
near the service line, off balance, so that neither a 

[73] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

run in for a volley nor a run back for a drive is pos- 
sible; then the ball is hit at almost the same moment 
that it touches the ground; in other words, it is a 
pick-up; the racquet is struck sharply down with the 
wrist and forearm. 

I am not ashamed to say that I regard my return of 
a ball on the half-volley as pure luck; I do not believe 
the stroke is ever worth development as an integral 
part of the game and it should be used only when you 
have been forced out of position. Of course the 
advice always to hit a rising ball finds its logical out- 
come in taking the ball the moment that it leaves the 
ground, but this is, I think, carrying the principle to 
an absurdity. The half-volley is a useful stroke 
to know, but it is one of those strokes that come 
by instinct rather than by practice. 

Keeping the eye on the ball is two-thirds of the 
volley, the smash, and the half-volley. The actual 
strokes are very easy, but the judgment of the ball is 
not easy and will not be attained unless the eye is 
trained to be ever with the ball. 

[74] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

The defence to the volley is the lob, which goes 
well over the head of the player at the net and 
drops far in the back of the court. The lob may 
also be an offensive stroke when it just clears the 
net player and bounds so swiftly into the back court 
that the player cannot run back to reach it. 

The lob, like the volley, is a part of the game, but 
is not a satisfactory style of play excepting in doubles. 
Nothing is more pathetic than to see a player in 
singles returning high lob after high lob in the hope 
that, in time, the opponent will smash one into the 
net. No more irritating style of play exists, and, if 
this sort of game has any excuse, it is as a test of 
temper. If you can preserve a decent disposition 
through a couple of sets against a player who only 
lobs, nothing in this world is apt thereafter to bother 
you much. The lob so used is not tennis. 

A lob may often be very helpful in doubles, but I 
have little or no use for it in singles. A badly exe- 
cuted lob gives the opponent a splendid chance for 
a smash, while a good lob will only gain a little time. 

[75] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

A lobber seldom wins unless her opponent succumbs 
to irritable fatigue. 

Therefore I unreservedly say that one should lob 
only when no other play seems possible. I abhor ex- 
cessive lobbing. 

A lob must be definitely placed, just high enough to 
avoid the player at the net and land at or very near 
the base line. There are advocates of the very high 
lob, but I can see no merit in a high lob; the object of 
the play is to put the ball out of reach, and a height 
beyond that point only gives the opponent ample 
time to travel into the back court for the return. 
Naturally the lower the lob, the more quickly it will 
reach its destination. The height is also controlled 
by the fact that every effective lob must be deep. A 
short lob gives a splendid opportunity for a killing 
smash and amounts to tossing away a point. 

Therefore my advice is: lob only when you are in a 
hole, lob deep and just high enough to clear the net 
player and still reach somewhere close to the base 
line. 

[76] 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

The defence against the lob is mainly a matter of 
activity; you should recognize where the ball is 
coming as it leaves the racquet. If the lob will be 
short, run backward, with your racquet poised in the 
air. If the lob is deep, turn and make a dash for the 
base line, turning again to take the ball. 

I find that I can usually pass a girl at the net 
with a drive, and prefer this method to lobbing. 
However, if you must lob, place as carefully as 
any other stroke. Then you may transform the 
dangerous position that forced you to lob into a 
position of advantage for killing a weak return. The 
backhand corner is often the best place to direct the 
ball. Most girls will run around a high lob thus 
placed to take it on their forehand, and they will 
seldom have time to make an adequate return. 

The handling of lobs is an open question; some 
players smash all lobs, short or deep; there can be no 
question but that all short lobs should be smashed. 
But I think it is dangerous for most players to smash 
deep lobs; the ball must be hit at just the right point 

[77] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

or it will either slam into the net or go wildly out of 
the court. I find that it pays me to let the lob 
bounce and drive it hard; this is not an approved 
style of play. Those who do not advocate the smash- 
ing of all lobs say they should at least be volleyed. I 
would suggest that the player experiment with the 
several styles until she finds which gives the best 
result. Remember that a couple of successful 
smashes do not counterbalance a dozen nets or outs. 

Skilful lobbing is scarce among women players; a 
few players do nothing but lob, while the others lob 
in singles when they can find no other safe stroke or 
to gain a breathing space. Very seldom is the lob 
well placed. Miss Mary Browne and Mrs. Marshall 
McLean place their lobs well in singles, and Mrs. 
Wightman is very accurate with the stroke in 
doubles, but she seldom uses it in the singles matches. 

The stroke for the high lob is made by getting 
under the ball and hitting up; only constant practice 
will give the direction and the force needed to find the 
back of the court. 

[78] 





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Photograph by Edwin Levick, N. Y 

DRIVING A SHORT LOB 
Miss Mary Browne 



THE VOLLEY AND THE LOB 

On both the volley and the lob and all things con- 
nected therewith I am a rank heretic. I value 
both of them very slightly, excepting in doubles. 

/ . Do not attempt to volley when more than ten feet 
from the net. 

2. Run into the volley; do not take it while moving 
backward. 

3. Keep your arm and racquet very rigid. 

4. Do not become so enamored of the volley that you 
neglect the other parts of your game. Keep the play 
where it belongs. 

5. Smash hard, but smash sparingly; do not smash 
when in doubt, and never smash when standing behind 
the service line. 

6. Half -volley only when you can do nothing else. 

7. Lob when caught in a hole or when you need 
breathing time; do not lob as a style in singles. 

8. Always volley and lob to position. 



[79] 



CHAPTER VI 

PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

THOSE who have scientifically observed the 
flight of a tennis ball say that it is impossible 
to hit a ball so that it will not rotate upon 
its axis. Whatever the normal rotation may be of a 
ball which is intended to be hit without a spin, 
certain premeditated spins may be given which will 
vastly influence flight. 

If the racquet is passed over the top of the ball, a 
top spin in the direction of the flight will be given; 
this spin brings the ball to earth long before the 
natural force of gravitation. Therefore one may hit a 
top spin very hard and still have the ball come down 
in the court. Most drives which are intended to be 
straight and nearly all of the so-called straight serv- 
ices have more or less top spin. The lifting drive 

[80] 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

is the most familiar of the premeditated top-spinning 
strokes. 

When the racquet passes under the ball, a back 
spin or undercut is effected ; the force of this motion 
is against that of gravitation and therefore the ball 
keeps an almost level course until the spin is spent; 
then it drops dead to the surface. 

By passing the racquet to the right or the left, side 
spins or twists are given, as in the twisting services. 
This stroke cannot well be used in the play after the 
service because the motion of the racquet is rather 
awkward. 

When a top-spinning ball bounces, the rotation is 

seldom spent, and therefore the ball shoots from the 

ground and is apt to fly up into the air when hit by 

the racquet. It is a particularly hard ball to volley 

because of this tendency; as explained in the chapter 

on the volley, an inclined racquet will check the 

motion. The ball with an underspin drops almost 

vertically if severely cut and gives a low kick rather 

than a bounce; it is an ugly ball to handle hurriedly. 

[81] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

The rule to bear in mind in receiving all twisting 
balls is that the ball will curve in the direction op- 
posite to that which the racquet took in the stroke 
and will bounce in the same direction as the motion 
of the racquet. Let me illustrate: the top spin is 
made by passing the racquet forward over the ball, 
the ball tends to rotate back to the striker, but when 
it hits the ground the shoot is forward. The under- 
cut is made with a down and under motion of the 
racquet ; therefore the ball tends to rise against gravi- 
tation, and, when it hits the ground, tries to go back 
to the striker. A ball curving left will bounce to the 
right and a ball curving right will bounce to the left. 

By watching the motion of your opponent's rac- 
quet you will know how to treat the ball when it 
arrives; you will not be deceived by the jumpy bound 
which some services take in the direction opposite to 
their wide curve. 

As I said in the chapter on the drives, nearly all 
drives have more or less top spin, and I think that a 
certain amount of top spin is always valuable, be- 

[82] 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

cause it enables one to hit a hard ball which is diffi- 
cult to volley and yet which will keep in court. 
This valuable length is hard to attain with a per- 
fectly straight ball. I do not, however, advocate a 
very pronounced top spin because that brings the 
ball down too soon. 

It is to control length that both the top spin and 
the undercut belong in tennis. They are useful only 
insofar as they preserve their legitimate functions. 

The chop is the undercut stroke most commonly 
used. The racquet passes over the ball diagonally 
from right to left with a sharp downward blow. The 
wrist must be kept very firm and slightly snapped at 
the moment of contact with ball. The motion is 
almost the same as in chopping with a hatchet, hence 
the name of the stroke. 

The chop hangs the ball in the air on account of the 
back spin and it drops almost dead after crossing the 
net. The experts with the chop can command its 
length to a nicety. They apparently hit a ball very 
severely from the back of the court but it drops only 

[8 3 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

four or five feet beyond the net. Such abbreviation 
of length is impossible with any stroke which de- 
pends on gravity to bring the ball down. Therefore 
the chop is often used to pull a base-line player out of 
position. 

In my match with Miss Mary Browne in Los 
Angeles she used the chop to dislodge me. When I 
served to her, say, in the right-hand court, she would 
chop my service to the right side line just a few feet 
beyond the net. Taken unawares, it was all that I 
could do to reach the ball for the return. And being 
caught in this awkward corner, I left my whole 
court open for an easy score. This style of play 
bothered me considerably, for Miss Browne not only 
chopped into the corners but occasionally chopped 
down the centre and now and again drove freely. 
She won the first set entirely with this stroke, but 
then I found that I could discover where and how the 
ball was coming by watching the motion of her rac- 
quet. The chop is not dangerous when you know it 
is coming. Following the ball from the racquet, I 

[8 4 ] 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

was able to arrive at the right place in time to make a 
killing return. Having solved her chop, I won the 
match. When the straight hard drive and the chop 
can be mixed sufficiently they will bother almost any 
player, and especially a player who is easily put off 
her game. 

Mrs. Lambert Chambers chops with exceeding 
cleverness ; she is one of the few players who are able 
to chop effectively and yet preserve the hard driving 
qualities of the game. She has won several matches 
against base-line players simply by changing the 
length of her returns. If she returns with a short 
chop from the service her next ball would be a hard, 
full-length drive, thus keeping her opponent in a con- 
tinual race from the base line to the net. 

The value of the chop and of all cut strokes lies in 
their unexpectedness and consequent disconcerting 
effect upon the opponent. If you know a chop is 
coming, you can be ready for it, and incidentally it is 
the easiest ball in the world to volley, because the 
backward spin tends to return the ball over the net. 

[8 5 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

If you merely touch a back-spinning ball anywhere 
near the net, it will go over. 

The ball with the twist is disturbing because it 
bounces at an odd angle. The first time that you re- 
ceive one you will probably miss it altogether or 
knock it lamely into the net. This makes some 
players feel foolish and throws them off their game. 
Miss Anita Meyers sometimes returns with a twist. 
When I first met her, I was decidedly rattled by the 
uncanny bounces, and I went off my game for some 
little while, but then, as in the case of the chop, I was 
able to judge the ball by the motion of the racquet. 
Once you know how a twisting ball is going to act, it 
is really easier to return than a straight ball, because 
it is slower and gives an unlimited opportunity for a 
strong drive. 

Mrs. Von Sitka, at one time the German champion, 
is an expert with the chop stroke. She is one of the 
three or four women in Europe who use the chop 
stroke as a style of play and still manage to take high 
rank. Fraulein Rieck, another German champion, 

[86] 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

against whom I played in Homburg several years 
ago, puts a tremendous top spin on almost every ball. 
She strikes very hard and her drives shoot as they 
hit the ground. If you return them with the ordi- 
nary stroke the ball will go almost straight up into 
the air. Hers is the most bothersome drive I have 
ever met, because she not only has all this spin and 
speed but also has the most remarkable delicacy of 
direction. I could not handle her drives and she 
beat me. I think that, with the knowledge which I 
now have of the conduct of a spinning ball, I would 
to-day be able to conquer her drives. 

In addition to the players whom I have mentioned, 
the only other first-class players who use the chop 
stroke to any advantage are Mrs. Wightman and 
Miss Eleanora Sears. Mrs. Wightman chops solely 
to bother a base liner, and when she is at the top of 
her game it never does to let her command the ball. 
She will keep you on the run with the chop, straight 
drive, and volley until she gets the point. I think, 
however, that the chop has had some influence on the 

[8 7 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

strength of her drive, and certainly Miss Sears weak- 
ens her very strong game by too much chopping. 

Therein lies the danger of the chop and all the 
other strokes which I choose to call "fancy" strokes 
— they absorb the whole of one's game. I do not 
understand why, but once a player has acquired a pas- 
sable proficiency with the chop stroke, she neglects 
her straight drive. As skill with the chop increases, 
the drive steadily decreases. The result is a game in 
which tricks take the place of straight, hard play. 

Possibly the fondness for the chop may be traced 
to its efficacy against weaker players. If a girl does 
not understand how to handle a chopped or twisted 
ball, she will be utterly helpless, and the chopper 
will win with almost ridiculous ease. Time and 
again I have seen players with excellent strokes, but 
without the best heads in the world, become baffled 
and panicky before the cranky kick of the under- 
spinning ball. But, on the other hand, spin and twist 
will not particularly bother a first-class player. 

Any one who constantly plays net, loves to take the 

[88] 




Photograph by Edwin Levick, N. Y. 

A LOW BACKHAND VOLLEY IN MID COURT 
Mrs. George W. Wightman 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

ball with an underspin; the base liner will easily man- 
age these balls by watching the motion of the rac- 
quet in delivery and then waiting for the crankiness 
to settle out after the bounce. When a player who 
relies entirely on the chop finds her opponent han- 
dling it with ease, she has lost the match. Tricks are 
valuable only when they are unexpected. Once they 
are solved in advance, they are no longer tricks. 
Patience and the use of your head will solve the 
problem of nearly every twisting ball. Watch your 
opponent's racquet to learn the kind of ball that is 
coming — then patiently await its arrival. Of course 
this patient waiting is relative; you will not have 
time to saunter. Get to the spot where the ball is 
going to bounce and then watchfully await the ex- 
piring of the twist. Running into or smothering a 
spinning ball is fatal, for then you will have the full 
force of the spin to overcome and will probably mess 
up the return. 

I have never used the chop stroke or a stroke with 
an excessive top spin. I do not know how to play 

[89] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

them and I do not care to learn. Even if I thought 
that I could learn these strokes without weakening 
my drive, I am not at all sure that I should go to the 
bother. To my mind they do not pay. I consider 
tennis a hard-hitting, placing game and I think speed 
and placement must eventually win. The player 
with a great repertoire of cuts may disconcert an 
opponent for the time being, but so would a server 
who turned a somersault on her delivery. It is only 
the novelty of the thing that is bothersome. I do 
not consider any game as being sound which is based 
on other than straight tennis. In the term straight 
tennis, I include a moderate amount of top spin be- 
cause the top spin is in the direction of the flight of 
the ball and increases rather than retards speed, and 
it does not interfere with placement. I class all 
strokes as good which make for speed and accuracy, 
and I class all strokes as bad which sacrifice either 
speed or accuracy. 

Mrs. Bundy's game is a splendid example of first- 
class tennis based solely on hard, straight, accurate 

[90] 



PUTTING A TWIST ON THE BALL 

driving. Therefore, although I must include a 
chapter on these strokes, in order to make this book 
a more or less complete survey of tennis, I do not tell 
of them because I think they are good tennis or be- 
cause I know anything about them. I present them 
for what they are worth — and, in my judgment, they 
are not worth much. 

/. Do not let temporary success with lifting strokes, 
chops, or twists, unsettle your game. If you find these 
strokes weaken your drives, drop them at once. 

2. A hall always twists or curves in the direction 
opposite from that of the racquet in striking and bounces 
in the same direction as the racquet. 

3. Let the spin die out of heavily cut strokes before 
you return them. 

4. The racquet passing up and over the ball makes 
top spin; down and under the ball gives back spin. 

5. Top spin tends to bring the ball down; under spin 
tends to keep the ball horizontal until it is spent. 

6. Keep all fancy strokes — if you must learn them — 
for emergencies; do not adopt them as a style. 

[91] 



CHAPTER VII 

PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

A GAME of tennis is not a mere measuring of 
the brute strength and speed of two players, 
but rather a measuring of heads. You get 
points and win the match by outwitting your op- 
ponent. The speed and the strength let you take 
advantage of the openings which you have thought 
out. 

Put a hard ball to the place where your ad- 
versary is not — that is tennis. And I think this 
principle is best worked out in the game of singles. 
Therefore I like singles; doubles are chummy and 
they are not nearly such hard work as singles, but I 
hold the joy of purely individual combat so highly 
that I consider singles as the only real game of tennis. 

It is in singles that one can work out plans of attack, 

[92] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

can study the weaknesses of the opponent, can 
scheme to outwit, and then can execute the plans 
without the factor of a partner or an opponent's 
partner. It is wit versus wit, strength and speed 
versus strength and speed. You are equally respon- 
sible for your errors and your aces. Singles is the 
self-reliant game which brings out all that is in you, 
and I take it to be tennis. Doubles has none of 
these fascinating individual qualities. 

I suppose that games and even matches may be 
won by playing for your opponent to make errors. I 
prefer the positive game in which you do the scoring 
instead of trusting to errors from the other side of the 
net. One can never go far with the negative game; 
you cannot always take for granted that the oppo- 
nent will net or out when goaded to frenzy by your 
inevitable, even easy, returns. It is a poor sort of a 
style to fall into. I always take the game to my 
opponent. Attack, attack, attack! 

The original attack is with the server; the server 
has the advantage of placing the first stroke. This 

[93] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

is an advantage of no little moment, and it is not to 
be thrown away by a heedless service. The service 
gives you the jump, and it is up to you to keep that 
jump until you have scored the point. 

Make your attack everything which the word 
means — go fiercely for the point from the very second 
that the ball leaves your racquet on service. It does 
not mean much to lose a game on the opponent's 
service, but to lose your own service means the loss 
of the set, unless you can break through a service on 
your own account. It is far easier to win your own 
service than to break through another's. You have 
been given the mastery for the first stroke and it is 
your business to keep it. 

Press your opponent from start to finish. Of 
course you are not to become wild and excited, but 
you will try to make the other girl wild and excited. 
It is surprising what may be accomplished by well- 
directed, ceaseless energy. 

As part of the energetic game, the ball is always to 
be hit hard and deep; my favorite spots are the 

[94] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

corners of the court. Drive every ball with all your 
might in an effort to make your opponent run to and 
fro across the court ; once you have her so travelling, 
the point is only a question of time. A cross-court 
shot, a sharp volley, or a smash is sure to be offered 
for the point. You will vary your attack according 
to circumstances, but, in general, I try to command 
the ball and press the game from start to finish. If 
you get the game started with a good service in the 
right place, you will be in position to take the logical 
return of the stroke with a swift drive, and once you 
have made your first drive, you ought to be able, 
barring accidents, to control the game. 

I recommend hard driving and pressing; these are 
relative terms. You will not drive beyond your 
accuracy and you will not press beyond your ca- 
pacity. The beginner will wisely confine herself well 
within her limits. The eventual objective is the 
whirlwind attack, but it must be worked up to by 
easy stages. 

You must adopt some basic style of play — be 

[95] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 
either a base-liner or a volleyer. I do not say that it 
is not well to know both styles thoroughly, but I 
hardly believe such proficiency is attainable. You 
will inevitably go to one or the other of the styles, and 
it is well to decide definitely at the outset; then you 
can later make such changes as may seem advisable. 

I favor base-line play for women. 

I take my position after service or after the return 
of a service, back of the central point of the base line. 
This is the commanding position of the court and 
should be taken after every stroke; if you regain that 
place, you will not easily lend yourself to your op- 
ponent's scheme to tie you up in a corner of the court. 

Playing from the base line, you will drive every 
return and endeavor to either draw your opponent in 
or force her to a side line so that you can put the ball 
out of her reach. For instance, drive first to her 
backhand line and then drive her return to her fore- 
hand line; keep alternating your returns. 

If a return comes forward feebly, run to the net for 
a smash or a quick cross-court volley. Adjust your 

■ [96] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

play to the position of your opponent and always 
drive hard. 

The back-court game presumes an ability to drive 
hard and low; if you keep position, you will have 
time to drive effectively; the more speed you put into 
these drives, the harder will be the work of your op- 
ponent. You are certain to get openings which will 
enable a point to be won in a stroke or two. 

While you are playing to get your opponent out of 
position, she is likewise playing to dislodge you. 
Your success depends upon your ability to reach 
position after each stroke. Therefore do not wait 
around to see how your ball makes out; go back to 
position unless you have your opponent in such 
trouble that a trip to the net is demanded. Above 
all things do not let yourself be drawn into mid- 
court; a player at the service line is lost. A drive 
may be put down either line or the ball may be 
swiftly returned directly at the trapped player. The 
safe position is back of the base line; it is easy to run 
forward but very difficult to run back. 

[97] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

The base-line game is not so spectacular as the net 
game, but it is very effective when well played; and it 
requires less skill and activity than the net game. 
Patience and hard, accurate driving are the requisites 
of the base-line style. 

I am opposed to women playing an exclusively net 
game, yet I realize the great value of an ability to go 
to the net and volley through a game or two. I 
refer to singles; it is absolutely necessary to play net 
in doubles. 

It is foolish for a girl to rush to the net on her 
service, because her delivery is never so severe as to 
make a careful return impossible; and if the striker 
can handle the service, she will pass the net player 
more often than not. I have yet to find the woman 
who is fast enough to cover the whole width of the 
court against a hard, accurate driver. 

I did not play much at the net before coming to the 
United States — the girls abroad depend upon hard 
driving from the base line. I find a knowledge of net 
play helps my game, but I notice too many girls who 

[ 9 8] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

think that they can always play net. Undoubtedly 
it is great fun to play net, but it is a dangerous style. 

I favor going to the net when you have put your 
opponent into difficulties; for instance, if you have 
got her running across the court chasing your side- 
line drives and she is returning them very weakly, 
you can take the net to score. Sometimes the 
opponent's play is hard to handle in the back court 
because the ball twists and bounds strangely; in such 
case, a season at the net will surely disconcert her, for 
the average cutting, chopping game succumbs to the 
volley. The style is also useful as a change when you 
find your drives are not coming off as they should. 
When to play net and when to stay back depends 
upon circumstances, but never go to the net without 
a definite purpose; some players reach the net simply 
because they have been told it is the thing to do — 
and they lose points. 

If you do play net, stand as close to the net as you 
can without hitting your racquet over it ; if the rac- 
quet crosses the net to hit a return, the point belongs 

[99] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

to your opponent. Being close to the net makes all 
of your volleys much easier and surer than they 
would be from mid-court. 

To go back to the beginning of a game in singles: 
Suppose you have the first service — your problem is 
not simply to put a ball over the net and into the 
service court; every ball you hit in tennis should be 
aimed at a definite spot. Therefore you must place 
your service — pick out a place, and aim at it. You 
may not hit the intended spot on every stroke, but 
you must at least try so to do. 

If your opponent is weak on her backhand, give 
her the service on her backhand; perhaps she will 
run around the service to take it on the forehand. 
Then a service to the forehand may bring an ace. 
Mix up your services so that you will always give the 
unexpected ball ; once you find your opponent making 
ready for a certain kind of ball, serve another kind. 
When you find her equally strong forehand and back- 
hand, serve down the centre of the court; she will re- 
turn this ball and you will have scarcely any chance 

[ ioo ] 




Photograph by Edwin Levick, N. Y 
A FOREHAND VOLLEY NEAR THE NET 
Mrs. George W. Wightman 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

for a service ace, but she is bound to return it to the 
centre of your court, and thus you have full oppor- 
tunity to make your own return and to set into 
motion any scheme for the point which you have 
evolved. 

The service is highly important, but remember it is 
only the first stroke of the game; you do not win or 
lose the ace on it, and you should not serve as though 
service aces were the only aces to be had in the game. 
Therefore you will depend on accuracy more than 
upon speed; undue speed will likely tire you for the 
strokes following. As I said in the chapter on the 
service, speed is very desirable in the service, al- 
though I think, if one must choose, that speed in the 
drives will gain more than speed in the service; but 
the speed must be watched so that it affects neither 
your accuracy nor your strength. 

The best place to stand for the service is near the 
middle of the base line just far enough back and to 
one side to avoid making a foot-fault. Mrs. Bundy 
formerly stood so near the centre that she had faults 

[IOI] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

called on her for serving from the wrong court; it is 
not worth while to cut the distance quite so finely as 
this. 

Serve to the weakness of your opponent ; play to 
the weakness of your opponent; always hammer the 
weakness. Usually the weakness is backhand, but 
sometimes the weakness is on the forehand. Out in 
California Mrs. Bundy played my forehand in 
preference to my backhand. If your opponent likes 
a high-bouncing ball, give her low ones, and vice 
versa. If she is poor at the net but will come for- 
ward, lure her forward and then pass her with a sharp 
drive. If, on the other hand, she is strong at the net, 
as are Mrs. Wightman and Miss Browne, keep her 
in the back of the court by hard, deep drives to the 
corners. And when you have so played upon her 
weakness that your opponent expects the return to 
come to her weak spot, try a return to her strength. 

Whenever you find your opponent expecting any 
particular kind of stroke, when you find her poised to 
meet that sort of stroke, give her something else. 

[ 102] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

These quick changes are wonderful ace getters. It is 
the unexpected that wins in tennis. 

To deliver the unexpected you must be thinking a 
little ahead of your opponent ; you must be thinking 
just enough ahead to anticipate her. If she has 
certain favorite returns, for instance if she usually 
makes a cross-court return from her backhand, 
you will be ready for such a return, but not so 
"ready" that another return will find you off bal- 
ance. 

Above all things avoid being caught in the vicinity 
of the service line; and, by the same token, try to get 
your opponent into that position. It is a fatal 
position; you are too far away from the net to volley 
with any precision. It will be luck if you make a 
return at all, and if you do make a return, it will 
probably be feeble and easily killed. A proficiency 
in the half-volley is very useful here, but it is far 
better to keep out of the position. 

In receiving service do not let yourself be worried 
by the antics of the ball. Often a girl will have a 

[103] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

splendid service; your every effort to return it results 
in failure. 

Here is where you must have nerve; study the serv- 
ice; find out where you err. Then act on the re- 
sults of your observations. Remember that, if you 
can win your own service, your inability to handle 
your opponent's ball means nothing more than that 
you will have a hard game of it. I have often been 
baffled by swift, breaking services, but I have always 
found a solution; sometimes my opponent's strength 
gives out in the second set. This is nearly always 
the case with girls that affect the very hard complex 
service. 

Take a position to receive service well behind the 
base line from whence you can command either line 
of the service court. If you stand too far at either 
side it will be difficult to reach a swift ball cutting the 
far line, and that is where a clever server will give 
you the ball. The strength of your backhand more 
or less determines your position, and in any event 
you will try to return with a forehand drive. The 

[ 104] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

cultivation of a good backhand makes it doubly 
difficult for the server to put the ball out of reach. 

Services which have spins and break right or left 
are hard to handle, because the ball will not leave 
your racquet true, but most of these services will 
respond to careful timing; you may have to experi- 
ment as to the best way of hitting, and in the course of 
your experiments you may lose the set, but it will be 
time well spent if you master the service. 

Return the service to a position. If the server is 
far to one side of the court send the ball to the other 
side line or across court; if she starts to run across 
court at the moment of delivery, place a shot in the 
direction opposite to which she is moving. If she 
comes to the net on her service, try a cross-court ball 
or lob over her head. I find that I can usually drive 
past the girl rushing to the net and that it is not 
necessary to lob. 

Keep your eye on the ball every second; watch the 
racquet on the service, watch the direction, and thus 
be ready when the ball arrives. 

[105] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

Your scheme of game depends largely upon the 
play of the server. It is easy enough to handle the 
few girls who come to the net on service; if the service 
be swift, they will not reach a good net position be- 
fore you have the return whizzing back, especially if 
you take the service on the upward bounce. If the 
service be slow and she comes in, you have every 
chance to pass her with a strong, well-placed drive. 
Girls never cover the whole net. 

Watch carefully against the plays that are de- 
signed to lead you into a position where a cross-court 
return may be put out of your reach. Instantly re- 
turning to position is the safe defence, for then you 
have the court well in hand. If the ball bounces so 
that you must go far beyond the side line for the re- 
turn, you had best lob the return or make a slow 
stroke, which will give you time to reach position 
before the ball can come across again. In such case 
your return is purely defensive and your scheme will 
be to play for time. 

The server has the whiphand for the moment and 

[ 106] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

you must avoid her traps; if she volleys well, keep 
her away from the net; if she smashes strongly, shun 
the short lobs, and attempt the deep ones only when 
in the direst straits. 

Quick returning will do much to change your game 
from the defensive to the offensive, and the greatest 
aid to the quick return is to meet the ball as it rises. 
I cannot understand why more American girls do not 
try this method; it is almost universal abroad. 

If you are on the defensive and hard put to it, have 
patience and do not attempt to turn the tables too 
soon. It is far better to take one's time and work 
around into position than to give way to a desperate 
desire to unexpectedly score from adversity. But if 
the chances are that the safe play will give an easy point 
to the other side, try any bold effort. Make or break. 

The greatest aid to a proper defence is the ability 
to know where the next ball is coming. Therefore 
never take your eye off the ball. Watch the ball! 

I hope that I have made it quite plain that general- 
ship — quick, intelligent thinking — makes up a big 

[ 107] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

portion of the game of tennis. Suppose a girl is very 
strong on the forehand and weak on the backhand, 
you might hammer at her forehand indefinitely 
without result. Such a girl will stand to the left of 
the court to protect her weak backhand. Play a 
ball far over to her right, make her run for it, then 
you have her at the right of the court with her whole 
backhand open to a drive for the ace. This is a very 
simple example of what generalship means to the 
game. But how hard it would be to win that point 
if you did not entice that girl to a position where she 
had to uncover her weak stroke! 

The object of all generalship is to bring your op- 
ponent to such a position that it is either very diffi- 
cult for her to reach the ball at all or she is forced to 
play it with her weakest stroke. Every player has 
some weak points, but if those weak points do not un- 
cover readily, your generalship may be to keep her 
running until she is exhausted, when you can win 
with ease. I have won from Mrs. Wightman by out- 
lasting her and not by outplaying her. 

I 108 ] 



PLAYING THE GAME SINGLES 

An inexperienced player will often wonder why the 
good player is so seldom caught far from the point 
where the return hits the court. Where one player 
will be rushing wildly across the court, another will 
be on the spot calmly waiting for ball. The reason 
why the one player is unready and the other is ready 
is because the first has used only her racquet, while 
the second has used also her head. The finest ex- 
ecution of strokes in the world will not avail if 
the brain is not behind the strokes; the first evi- 
dence of brain is judging where the ball is going to 
land. 

Judgment of the ball is a kind of instinct with some 
players, but it is a faculty which may be acquired by 
any girl if she will always keep her eye on the ball and 
associate the position of the opponent's racquet with 
the flight. I can determine nearly the exact spot 
where a ball will touch the court from the moment it 
is hit, and hence I have time to reach that part of the 
court and prepare for my return strokes. With 
practice one makes this judgment without con- 

[ 109] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

scious effort, but the judgment is founded on keeping 
the eye on the ball. 

Some players of exceptional cleverness will succeed 
in so masking their strokes that they will fool you as 
to place, but this seldom occurs if you watch the 
ball start in its flight instead of making your determi- 
nation from the position of the racquet just before 
impact. 

Your every stroke must have an object; a wild re- 
turn is little better than a complete miss, for it is sure 
to give an opening to the opponent. I have pre- 
viously advised playing a system founded on your 
opponent's weakness and your own strength, but in 
the use of this system quick thinking is necessary. 
If you always do a certain thing in a certain way, a 
clever opponent will know what to expect; if you 
keep your eyes open you can often tell what she ex- 
pects you to do — then do something else. Never 
make the obvious and expected stroke if you can gain 
by a surprise play. The quick sizing up of situations 

wins matches. 

[no] 



PLAYING THE GAME — SINGLES 

An entire change of style upsets your opponent's 
plans, and instant shifts and changes are to be made 
only when you think quickly. 

/. Keep your eye on the ball. 

2. Play to the weakness of your opponent. 

3. Press the attack and command the hall; do not 
play a negative game. 

4. Be accurate. 

5. Hit as hard as you can without a sacrifice of 
accuracy. 

6. Think a stroke ahead; play with your head as well 
as your racquet. 

7. Have always a scheme of play; make your 
strokes part of your scheme. 

8. Try to make the unexpected stroke. 



[mi 



CHAPTER VIII 

PLAYING THE GAME — MIXED DOUBLES AND WOMEN'S 

DOUBLES 

PLAY in doubles is very different from play in 
singles; the whole foundation of the game is 
changed, because two players on a side cover 
the court so much more completely than one player. 
The ordinary strategy of singles does not apply; it 
is very difficult to manoeuvre two players so out of 
position that an opening may be had for a clean ace. 
An ability to volley and to lob is essential for any 
player who expects to do anything in doubles. The 
command of the net is of supreme importance; the 
points are scored from the net where an opening may 
quickly be taken advantage of. The drives give so 
much time that one or the other of the opponents is 
bound to be in position for the return. Therefore 



PLAYING THE GAME — DOUBLES 

you must play net, and, as a corollary, you must lob 
to dislodge your opponents from the net. 

You must bear in mind that doubles and singles, 
although both are tennis, are not the same game. 
Many a good singles player is extremely poor in 
doubles, while some of the best women partners in 
doubles do not show up well playing alone. My 
game is essentially a driving game; I seldom volley 
and very seldom lob. In doubles my drive is not of 
much use — especially in mixed doubles — and hence 
I play doubles remarkably badly. And then, again, 
I do not like the game. The best partners in doubles 
are Mrs. Wightman, Miss Mary Browne, and Miss 
Eleanora Sears, because they all volley splendidly, 
and, not being compelled to run about as much as in 
singles, are able to endure through a championship 
match. 

Next in importance to the volley and the lob in 
doubles is the service. I have said that a very swift 
service does not pay in singles, but it is quite other- 
wise in doubles. A swift service, being harder to re- 

[113] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

turn, gives one's partner a chance to volley the return 
for the ace. A weaker service gives the opponent 
too much chance to drive or to lob. Thus it is very 
important to get your first service over as hard and 
fast as you can. Put all that strength which you 
would husband in singles into the service in doubles. 
Get your first service over. The tricks of service 
which are so useful in singles will not much avail in 
doubles; it is more important to make sure that the 
return comes within striking distance of your partner 
at the net. The best assurance of such a return will 
be found in directing the service down the centre line. 
You are playing for a kill by your partner and not for 
a service ace. 

Every doubles team should plan its campaign be- 
fore the match opens. A few practice sets together 
will help wonderfully; the more you play together 
the better will be your teamwork, but it so happens 
that doubles pairs are often scratch affairs and that 
little or no practice is taken together before the 
match. I do not recall ever having seriously gone 

[114] 




Photograph by Edwin Levick, N. Y. 
SERVICE OF MISS MARY BROWNE 



PLAYING THE GAME — DOUBLES 

into practice for doubles; it would pay. Several 
teams made up of only average players have suc- 
ceeded extremely well because they practised faith- 
fully and built up a composite game. If you care for 
doubles, by all means build up a game. The stand- 
ard of team play in women's doubles and in mixed 
doubles is very low in the United States, and any 
pair of slightly more than average ability could, by 
faithful practice, sweep the championships. 

The doubles game differs fundamentally from the 
singles game to start with, and when we come into 
doubles we find that mixed doubles and women's 
doubles are also different varieties of games. The 
essential difference between the two kinds of doubles 
is founded upon the fact that in women's doubles the 
partners are approximately equal, while in mixed 
doubles your male partner will be a considerably 
better player than you and much more capable of 
winning points. 

In choosing a partner for mixed doubles do not 
merely get the best player that you can find : choose 

[n 5 ] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

a player who will fit into your game, who will be 
strongest where you are weakest; and, other things 
being equal, take a man who has a strong service and 
who can volley. Then settle upon a style of play. 

In most good combinations the object is to keep 
the woman up at the net as much as possible. She 
can then cover a small section of the net, and the 
more active man can cover the remaining portion of 
the net as well as run back for the lobs. When the 
man is serving, the woman takes her place at the net 
and stays there, carefully watching her alley. When 
the woman serves, the problem is somewhat harder, 
because few women can reach the net on their own 
service. In such a case, the woman goes forward at 
the first available opportunity, in the meantime 
covering the back court and watching vigilantly lest 
the opponents shoot a ball across court through the 
big "hole" which is thus left open. 

When receiving service, both players are behind 

the base line; they go forward and back together as 

the play demands. There are several ways of 

[116] 



PLAYING THE GAME — DOUBLES 

playing the game, but the style with both players at 
the net as much as possible seems to be the most 
effective. 
Three points should always be settled upon : 
i . That if the man, on the woman's service, de- 
cides to cross the net from one side to the other, the 
woman should move across court in the opposite di- 
rection to cover court. 

2. Whether or not the girl should take the deep 
lobs. 

3. Who should take the balls which fall in the 
centre of the court and are equally available for 
either player. In such case it is best to let the man 
have them because he is the stronger player. 

Mixed doubles are faster and therefore are much 
better fun than women's doubles. There seems to be 
an idea that the woman should be spared in mixed 
doubles — that chivalry demands the hard returns be 
directed toward the man. This is a foolish idea and 
it does not work out in tournament play. In all the 
tournaments which I have played in mixed doubles, 

["7] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

the girl has always been selected as the target in 
precisely the way that you would select any weak 
spot in an opponent's game. I think this is much the 
better way. It is considerably more fun, and any 
girl who is afraid to handle the smashes, or to re- 
ceive the "cannon ball" service, had best stay out of 
mixed doubles. 

The plan of campaign in mixed doubles is some- 
what different from that in women's doubles. Your 
male partner will usually be a better player than 
you are, and, when it is doubtful who should take the 
ball, you will let him take it. Of course, you will 
hardly select a male partner who is weaker than 
yourself. 

If you can play net, take that position when your 
partner serves, but if you are very weak at the net 
and strong on ground strokes, play back of the base 
line and go to the net only when the man goes. It 
is very important that you work in unison, but in ex- 
ceptional cases this may be varied. 

You will need more practice in a mixed doubles 

[118] 



PLAYING THE GAME — DOUBLES 

team than in women's doubles, because the tendency 
of your male partner will be to take returns that 
ought to be yours; he can cover more of the court 
than you can. You will have to determine, by 
actual play, the regions in which each is to be 
supreme. A little practice in this respect will vastly 
improve the strength of the team. 

The woman's work is to feed kills to her partner; 
all her returns should be with the return to her part- 
ner in mind. Thus she sinks her individuality and 
sacrifices every risky scoring chance in order to give 
her partner a better scoring chance. Your partner 
is, expected to win his service, and thus the match 
really turns on whether you can hold up your end in 
the service. 

Selecting a partner for women's doubles is half the 
game, and, in many respects, the hardest part of the 
game. You will not only desire a girl who plays 
approximately as well as you do, but also one with a 
fairly compatible temperament. Nothing is more 
disagreeable than to pair with a girl who is con- 

[ 119] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

tinually making excuses, shifting blame, or shirking 
her work. 

A match in doubles is not merely played by four 
players arranged two on each side of the net; it is a 
match between teams of two players each. One will 
not get very far in doubles unless she is content to 
sink her individuality and play for the side. There- 
fore, shun the girl who is always rushing to make 
grand-stand plays which probably leave her out of 
position and give the next point easily to the op- 
ponents. "Poaching" is one of my depraved ten- 
dencies. 

Many players choose a partner because her game 
happens to be a complement; that is, a girl who is 
strong at the net will frequently choose a good back- 
court player as a partner, and vice versa. This is on 
the theory that one may look after the net and the 
other the back court, but I do not favor this sort of 
team. It may give one girl much more than she can 
properly attend to, while the other girl may be idle. 

In the style of play which I like best, both players 

[120] 



PLAYING THE GAME — DOUBLES 

are fairly equal and play the same sort of a game. 
On service you will put your partner at the net and 
then work up to the net yourself when the chance 
offers. She will care for her alley and the low returns 
on her side of the net. Thus you force the returns to 
a point where you can drive back and reach the net 
yourself. I do not think it advisable either in 
doubles or singles for the server to go up with the 
service. 

When receiving, both girls should stand back of 
the base line, and if the return drive gives a chance 
for the net, then take the net together. In the same 
way, they should both go back together. Thus 
the chances for a sharp cross-court opening for a 
point are minimized. A high lob, over the opponent 
at the net, deep into the corner is a very useful re- 
turn; often the next stroke gives you a chance for a 
kill. 

Do not steal your opponent's returns on the 
theory that you can play them more effectively — 
unless these plays are a part of your prearranged 

[121] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

plan. Usually you will have work enough looking 
after your own legitimate returns. 

Having two opponents makes it harder to find an 
opening, and you will watch to make returns to the 
corners of the alleys or across court between the 
players; and you will also watch that your opponents 
do not get such shots across on you. When in doubt, 
drive down the centre line, and always drive hard and 
deep. 

The old driving game in women's doubles still 
obtains in some quarters; it is played frequently 
abroad, where the girls are often afraid to volley. In 
that game all four players stand back of the base line 
and drive until some one nets the ball or makes an out. 
It is an interminable game of the dreariest possible 
character and has done much to make doubles un- 
popular. It is a game which cannot stand up for a 
moment against the volley style. 

I must give one caution about playing doubles : do 
not play in teams just because you find the game less 
exertion. Unless you develop your game in singles 

[ 122] 



PLAYING THE GAM E — D O U B L E S 
you will never reach the proper tennis development. 
Your aim should be an all-around game and not the 
lopsided game which too much doubles playing will 
bring to you. 

/. Volley and lob in doubles. 

2. Make your first service as bard as you can. 

3. Plan your campaign before the match begins. 

4. Subordinate yourself to the man in mixed 
doubles. 

5. Never poach on your partner s territory. 



I 123] 



CHAPTER IX 

AT THE TOP OF ONE'S GAME 

YOU are bound, no matter how well you play, 
to have an off day, now and again; if these 
days outnumber the days when you are " on" 
your game, there is something radically wrong with 
your tennis. You are not simply erratic — you are 
not playing tennis; some part of your game is so 
wrong that you play well only when in exceptionally 
good spirits. 

Tennis, however, is decidedly a temperamental 
game; you cannot play it day in and day out in the 
same form. You can have your game so well 
grounded in the fundamentals that you will never go 
badly off, but the snap, the fire, the quick thinking 
that go with the best playing are largely a matter of 
temperament. 

[ 124] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE'S GAME 

Of course one must be physically fit to play a 
match, but I regard the physical condition as more 
important in its mental bearing than in its actual 
bodily effects. I played one match with a twisted 
ankle; I could hardly stand on it, and yet I believe 
that I could have won that match in spite of the dis- 
ability if it had not been that I thought so contin- 
uously of the pain that I became fretful and un- 
balanced. I lacked the mental attitude to play 
the game; if I could have preserved the mental at- 
titude, I might have done something in spite of the 
ankle. 

This mental attitude means much to one in tourna- 
ment tennis, and I suggest that those who are easily 
upset take every precaution to come to matches in an 
even frame of mind. I know one player who is so 
very sensitive that she has mapped out a whole 
program for herself on days that she plays. She 
rises late, has just certain things — always the same — 
for breakfast, and never leaves the house until it is 
time to start for the courts. If something untoward 

[125] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

happens to her in the morning, she will become so un- 
nerved that good tennis is impossible for her. 

I am not easily disturbed by little happenings be- 
fore a game, and yet I have lost matches by dis- 
agreeable incidents which have no relation to tennis 
and which should not have really bothered me. I 
had arranged to motor out to the West Side Tennis 
Club for one of my matches in 191 5; the motor did 
not arrive, and I found myself near to playing time 
and without a train for over an hour. I telephoned 
that I would be late, and took a trolley car; it seemed 
to me that the car fairly crept along. I fussed and 
fumed all the way to Forest Hills, which I reached 
three-quarters of an hour late. My opponent was on 
the court in a frightful temper; she accepted my 
apology with scant grace, and we started the match. 
With the trolley car experience and the temper of my 
opponent, I found myself in no mood for tennis. I 
could not get my mind down to the match, and I lost 
game after game. Had I been against a stronger 
opponent, I should have lost, but I pulled myself to- 

[ 126] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE S GAME 

gether and won. At no point during that match was 
I able to exert more than half of my game. 

I try to keep my mind free before a game and I try 
never to worry about outside affairs. This is more 
easily said than done, but, if you must bother, bother 
about the match itself. Mere unthinking worry 
about a match will hurt your game, but thinking of 
the match and the way you are going to play it will 
help your game. Many people say: "Dismiss the 
match from your mind; go out on the court without a 
thought of victory or defeat." I do not agree with 
this idea. I say: "Think how you are going to win 
the match; do not think how you are going to lose it. 
Turn over in your mind the strength and the weak- 
ness of your opponent." 

Sometimes one is a little frightened before an im- 
portant match — the opponent is magnified in prowess 
and becomes a sort of a super-woman. I correct this 
by bringing myself to earth with the thought : " She 
is only a woman, she has no more right to win that 

match than I have. And, anyhow, nothing worse 

[ 127] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

than being beaten can happen; I am not going to 
die." 

I find this train of thought very comforting and 
quick to dispel any blue funk that may hover about 
me. I make myself have confidence, and generally I 
go out on the court supremely confident. Perhaps 
I overdo it. An umpire said to me not long ago: 

"You have no business coming out on the court 
looking as though you were going to have a good 
time; you must be more serious, more dignified about 
an important match." 

"But," I answered, "I am out for a good time. 
That is why I play tennis." 

I enjoy tournaments hugely; if I did not enjoy 
them, I would not play. I think the moment tennis 
becomes a serious, life and death affair, is the moment 
to stop playing the game. Perhaps my confidence is 
somewhere founded on my love for tennis, because I 
would rather play a match in tennis than do any- 
thing else that I know. Playing a match as a duty 
is, in my way of thinking, hopelessly absurd, 

[128] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE S GAME 

Still, no matter how much one enjoys the game, 
that enjoyment will not be present if the conditions 
surrounding the match are unpleasant. The en- 
vironment means much to any one. This is es- 
pecially the case with matches played away from 
home where one puts up with friends. I have been 
very fortunate in nearly always finding entirely 
pleasant surroundings, but once or twice things have 
not gone quite so well — I did not like my environ- 
ment. And always, under such conditions, my ten- 
nis has suffered. Several times I have been dread- 
fully homesick, and then I could not play at all. 
Things must make for comfort and happiness or the 
tennis will suffer. 

For instance, I have often danced most of the night 
before a match and then played at my very best, 
while, again, I have gone to bed early, been restless, 
and played away off my game. If you are not in the 
frame of mind to enjoy the game, you will not play 
your best tennis. 

I find the greatest difficulty in playing at the top 

[ 129] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

of my game against a weak opponent. One should 
play quite as hard against the weakest as against the 
strongest opponent, but it is not human nature. In 
the same tournament I have beaten the strong play- 
ers by scores more decisive than the scores against the 
weak players. And thereupon the strong players 
have become much disgruntled and claimed that I 
purposely made the difference. The strong players 
kept me at the game all the while and the weak 
players permitted me to let down. 

This tendency to let down is very dangerous; if 
you have a safe lead and begin to grow restless, your 
mind will drift away from the game. You cannot 
play good tennis unless the game absorbs your very 
being. And once your mind has wandered and the 
opponent takes on a new lease of life, you are apt to 
be in a bad way. Many matches have been lost by 
good players who let up in their game when they 
thought they had a safe lead, and then could not 
come back to meet a sudden spurt on the part of their 
once-beaten adversary. 

[130] 




Photograph by Edwin Levick, N. Y. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE BACKHAND DRIVE 

Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



AT THE TOP OF ONES GAME 

I think the lack of coming-back power in a girl 
who has slacked her playing in a match is due to 
nervousness. A fearfulness of losing the match suc- 
ceeds the rude upsetting of confidence, and, instead 
of concentrating on the game, the concentration is on 
the result of the match. Thinking about the result 
before the end has arrived always takes the mind off 
the game, and taking the mind off the game means 
taking the eye off the ball. When you do not have 
your eye on the ball you cannot play tennis. 

Not keeping the eye on the ball will be found to be 
at the bottom of most " off days" — the days on which 
nothing goes right. Your strokes to the side lines 
fall outside by inches, your low drives hit the tape 
and, instead of falling forward, drop back. These 
days are maddening; and, if you lose your temper, 
things only grow worse. I find the trouble is due 
mostly to lifting my eyes as I hit the ball; that is the 
immediate cause of the bad play. Of course you will 
not recognize the lifting of the eyes as the real cause; 
you will say that your racquet is wrong, your shoes 

[131] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

or your dress uncomfortable, or the court is acting 
queerly. These are merely the diverting circum- 
stances which cause you to lift your eyes; correct 
them insofar as you can and your attention will prob- 
ably come back to the game. 

I know a number of excellent players who go 
through a match splendidly if only they start well. 
These players reach the court without a secure con- 
fidence in themselves, and they become rattled if the 
first few games go against them. I think it is much 
better to take for granted that you are going to lose 
a few games at the beginning, or even the set; then a 
bad start does not bother you. A match is never 
over until the last stroke has been played; there is al- 
ways a chance to win. Mrs. Lambert Chambers in a 
memorable game had one set in hand and five games 
to one; she was within two points of victory when the 
other player braced up, carried Mrs. Chambers off 
her feet, and eventually won the match. 

I always start weakly; it takes me a set to find out 
the strength of my opponent unless I have played her 

[132] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE'S GAME 

many times before. I lost the first set to Mrs. 
George Wightman in the National Championship at 
Philadelphia and again in the Clay Court Champion- 
ship at Pittsburg; but I won both matches. In a 
match with Mrs. Bundy in California she had me 
5 — 2 on the first set, but I won the match 8 — 6, 6 — 2. 
Even if your opponent has won a set and has five 
games to your none on the second set, do not give up 
hope. Perhaps she will " crack' ' and you can 
simply romp through to victory. Never give up the 
fight until the umpire has called the last score. An 
infinite number of things may happen. 

It is this unbeatable spirit that wins matches; it is 
a nervous up-on-the-toes spirit which is not given to 
every one. I know several players who cannot play 
as well in tournaments as they do in practice simply 
because they will insist on losing matches before they 
play them. They become nervous and afraid; they 
should become nervous and bold. All first-class 
players are nervous; they come into matches keyed 
up to the highest point. Their nervousness con- 

[■33] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

tributes to the vim of their play; it intensifies rather 
than distracts from their steadiness. The phleg- 
matic, even player can go so far and no farther; she 
will never have the temperamental abandon which 
characterizes the best players. She will be afraid to 
try things. She will be far too fond of playing safe. 

Many players will tell you always to play safe. 
According to these advisers, you will not smash if 
there is a chance of missing; in fact, you will never try 
for a point when a miss will give a point to the other 
side. 

This may be good advice, but I do not recommend 
it. I regard speed and accuracy as of the highest im- 
portance, but I think that "steadiness" is but a 
negative virtue. My first reason is purely personal; 
I could not play a "safe" game; there is something so 
dull and colorless about a game in which one always 
does the same thing. One loses all the joy of combat 
in such a style — it is so insipid. 

My second reason is more practical. If you never 
try new ways, you will never go forward and you will 

[ 134] 



AT THE TOP OF ONES GAME 

not be able to meet strange situations. I know one 
woman who has played for many years and she is not 
a whit better now than she was ten years ago; that 
woman will never take a chance; she is afraid to try 
new strokes or to put unusual speed into any drive; 
she never smashes and she seldom volleys. Her 
game is always the same, and it always will be the 
same, for there is no possible way in which she can 
improve. 

I do not mean that one should take foolish chances 
and depend on luck for a point; it is suicidal to try 
novelties for their own sake. But there is a vast 
difference between a sporting chance and a foolhardy 
attempt. I will always venture the stroke which has 
a fair field to win, because that stroke may not only 
win the point but it may also considerably unsettle 
my opponent. It is disconcerting to have a player 
do something most unexpected and spectacular. 

Another argument against the perfectly safe game 
is that it makes one's game so settled that a novel 
style in an opponent may work disaster. If you have 

[135] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

confidence only in your safe plays, you will not be 
able to rise to unexpected occasions, and some girl 
will send you to defeat with a scheme of play which 
you might well have met had you been willing to at- 
tempt a new course of your own. 

I have spoken of "off days," and I have also said 
that if these days are habitual something is wrong 
with your tennis. But, after playing fairly well 
through part of the season, you may find your game 
slumping into mediocrity — you go off and you cannot 
come back. This quite often happens while you are 
learning a new stroke or style of play; you have not 
mastered the new style but you have unsettled your 
former game. Or it may happen from over-tennis: 
you may be stale. When I was taking lessons in the 
volley I found a period when I could neither volley 
nor drive; my game was up in the air. 

If the trouble is due to changing style, keep on 
diligently with a professional until you either learn 
the new style or decide that it is not for you. And in 
the meantime avoid playing matches. If you are 

[i 3 6] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE S GAME 

stale, give up tennis for a week or two. And when I 
say, "give up tennis," I mean to give up the game 
entirely and get out of the tennis atmosphere. Do 
not hang about the courts in the afternoon watching 
the other players; go away from the courts altogether 
and find a different environment. Then you will re- 
turn fresh and fit for your game. 

Freshness and fitness are singularly bound up with 
winning or losing in good temper. The girls who 
bitterly resent being beaten are the girls who most 
easily go off their games and then sometimes resort 
to tactics which are technically within the rules but 
which are ethically wrong. 

If one is not playing well, or is playing at top 
form and being beaten, the thing to do is to play 
harder and not to try to win the match by some 
scheme which is not founded on hard tennis. 

I think every stroke and every actual play of the 
game is fair; I think it is entirely fair to exhaust an 
opponent by making her run for every ball until she is 
in such a condition of exhaustion that I can easily win ; 

[137] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

I think it is fair to lob into the face of the sun, although 
I do not do so. In short, I think every play which is 
founded on strategy is part of the game and is fair. 
At one time I thought the use of the chop stroke was 
unfair. I played against Miss Morton, a fine English 
player, at Baden-Baden, and she kept chopping the 
ball just over the net. I was almost wild with rage 
at her lack of sportsmanship; I then thought that 
plain, straight driving was the only legitimate tennis. 
Of course I now know that I was wrong and that the 
chop stroke or any other stroke is a part of tennis. 
I think it entirely fair to rattle one's opponent or 
to get her angry by giving her balls that she does not 
like. But I most emphatically do not think it good 
tennis to try to put an opponent off her game by an 
act which has nothing to do with the strokes or the 
strategy of tennis. I have known girls to scream 
just as a hard stroke was about to be made. This 
does not often happen and, in most cases, is invol- 
untary. But other tactics are not due to stress of ex- 
citement. One of the most frequent of these is un- 

[138] 




THE FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE BACKHAND DRIVE 

Miss Molla Bjurstedt 



AT THE TOP OF ONE S GAME 

necessary and painful slowness. I have played 
matches in which my opponent tried to — and some- 
times did — arouse my anger by waiting a long time to 
take position for the service or to receive service, by 
calling "not ready" when she saw that I was set to 
serve, by gathering balls all around the court, al- 
though ball boys were on hand for that work. 

When one is on edge to play, this deliberation is 
disquieting, and when I know that it is intentional I 
lose my temper. And if you lose your temper you 
are gone. I have been so caught several times, but I 
do not imagine that I will be caught again. When I 
feel my temper rising, I say to myself, " I will not get 
angry, I will not get angry," and I keep on repeating 
that until I have myself in hand. 

But I cannot say too much against this sort of 
thing, and I am afraid that too many girls so resent 
being beaten that they will go to almost any lengths. 
Sometimes I wonder if women really have the finer 
sporting instincts of men. Sometimes I am quite 
sure, taking them by and large, that they have not 

I 139] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

these finer feelings in sport. I doubt if the average 
girl who congratulates her victorious opponent 
means what she says; I know that some do not. 
After almost every tournament one will hear a per- 
fect buzz about every first-class player, and I have 
heard ever so many about myself. Always I can 
trace the saying back to some one who has been 
beaten. I know that very few real friendships exist 
among tennis women. They do not have the give- 
and-take spirit of men, and they refuse to recognize 
that any player is unqualifiedly better than them- 
selves. 

All of this touches delicate ground ; some of the very 
best players have splendid sportsmanship — others 
have not. I think that if more women were playing, 
the spirit might be better, although the women abroad 
are just as jealous of each other as they are here. 

The spectators, by their partisanship, can easily 
throw you off your game. I find it hard to play a 
match with an unfriendly audience; it makes for con- 
fidence to know that some one in the crowd wishes 

[ MO] 



AT THE TOP OF ONE S GAME 

you to win, and not only wishes you to win but thinks 
that you can win. I have been helped a great deal by 
a friendly, " Keep at it, you can beat her," spoken to 
me while changing courts. 

The sporting spirit of women had best be left to a 
neutral observer; I am too much involved in the 
game. But do play tennis for the game's sake — not 
for winning. 

/. Play matches only if you enjoy them. 

2. Play as hard as you can but within the spirit as 

well as the letter of the rules. 

3. Rattle an opponent by your play but not by your 
manner. 

4. Play the game for the fun that you get out of it and 
not only to win. 

5. Think of the game all you like but do not worry 
about it. 



[141] 



CHAPTER X 

THE TEST OF THE TOURNAMENTS 

JUST as soon as a girl has learned to play a pas- 
sable game she should go in for the tourna- 
ments. I am not one of those who advocate 
excluding the weaker players from the champion- 
ships; I should be glad to see the entry list five or ten 
times as large as it now is, for that would mean more 
girls in the game. And I should like to see every one 
playing tennis. 

Tournament play is the best way to develop your 
game. In practice you will play against more or less 
the same lot of players; you will know all their styles, 
and you will adapt your style to meet theirs. In 
time you will become "set" in your ways; you will 
find yourself in a tennis blind alley from which you 
will have trouble in escaping. But if you enter the 

[ 142] 



TEST OF THE TOURNAMENTS 

tournaments you will meet new players with new 
styles, you will meet players better than yourself 
who have all varieties of attack and defence, you will 
readjust your game to changing styles and conditions 
and learn far more tennis. 

Tournament experience is invaluable; the com- 
petition puts a life into you which you would not 
otherwise acquire; you have the finer points of the 
game brought home to you. You see players better 
than yourself in action; you get into the tennis at- 
mosphere. I do not see how it is possible to play 
better than an average game without ample tourna- 
ment experience. 

The fear of being beaten, of being made to look 
foolish, keeps many girls out of tournaments. Some 
one may say to you, " What conceit ! You haven't a 
chance in the world." Probably you have no chance 
of winning, but you have an excellent chance to bet- 
ter your game. And it may comfort you to know 
that no player wins her first tournament, or her first 
dozen tournaments. Tennis growth is slow; five 

[ 143] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

years is a minimum period for development. All our 
best players have been in tournaments for ten years 
or more. Therefore no one need be discouraged by 
even the worst beating in the first match of the pre- 
liminary round. Know that the girls who are 
expected to win have also gone through the mill; 
they have also been unmercifully beaten time and 
again. 

The only danger of tournament play for the green 
player is that she will lose her nerve with the first de- 
feat and not try again. For that reason it would be 
well to exhaust the local tournaments before trying 
for bigger game. A win once in a while does help, 
and only the stoutest hearts will keep on steadily 
improving through seemingly interminable defeat. 
The presence or the absence of what I will call 
"tournament nerve" is of moment. You should be 
able to play your best game in competition, but 
probably you will fail to realize your fullest possi- 
bilities through your first few trials. The only way 
to gain tournament nerve is by tournament play; the 

[ 144] 



TEST OF THE TOURNAMENTS 

more you play, the more accustomed you will be- 
come to keen competition. 

I have always enjoyed tournaments, and I have 
been playing in them since a few months after I first 
held a racquet in my hand. I have learned most of 
my game by tournament play, and I recommend the 
same course to other players. 

I have but one caution: make sure that you are 
putting your tournament experience on the top of a 
firm foundation of tennis form. You will not learn 
form in match play; in fact, the tendency is to aban- 
don form in a wild desire to win. Tournaments will 
teach you strategy, but they will not teach you 
elementary play. That you must learn by hard 
practice. Have your fundamentals — your strokes, 
your body, and footwork — so well grounded, that 
play will strengthen you and not merely confirm 
weakness. 

I have no idea how much one should play during a 
season. With the indoor courts, the season is now 
twelve months long. I think that it would be un- 

[145] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

wise to play through the whole year, but this is a 
matter for the individual. If you enjoy the game, 
play all you can. I play in every tournament, 
winter or summer, that I find time to enter. If you 
find you are overplaying, stop for a while. There is 
no rule; it all rests with the individual. 

The first requisite of tournament play is nerve; the 
second is judgment. No matter how cleverly you 
have developed your strokes, they can never be more 
than pawns in the game. The real game is played 
with these strokes — it is not a result of them any 
more than chessmen make up the game of chess. 
You will use your strokes to best advantage if you 
have that idea constantly in mind. 

I favor playing to a system, but the system is 
to be chosen for each match and changed the mo- 
ment it appears to be wrong. The elements of 
the system are the covering of your own weak- 
nesses and attacking your opponent's vulnerable 
spots. 

You can spend a set discovering the thin points of 

[i 4 6] 



TEST OF THE TOURNAMENTS 

your opponent's game, but it saves time to watch her 
play in other matches of the tournament. 

If she is weak in driving and strong at the net, keep 
her in the back court by hard driving. If she drives 
well and plays poorly at the net, lure her up by short, 
slow returns. If her backhand is weak, return hard 
to the backhand court. 

Sometimes a player starts with a brilliancy which 
her strength will not maintain through the match. 
In such a case I abandon my idea of the pressing 
game and think only of tiring her out so that I can 
win when she loses snap. Frequent lobs and long 
drives are most efficacious in the wearing-down game; 
your whole thought will be to give an inordinate 
length to each game by refusing points when you can 
assist her to eventual exhaustion by long rallies. The 
scheme works beautifully against the average girl 
who affects the hard service net game. Give her 
plenty to do and the steam will soon vanish from her 
strokes. 

You may meet a player who is absolutely your 

[147] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

equal, and then the match becomes a matter of who 
"cracks" first; you must simply go in hard and trust 
that your strength will outlast hers. 

Keep your temper! No matter how much you are 
annoyed, remember that you cannot play blindly. 
There is always a way out of every hole if you will 
only view the situation with a clear eye. 

Study your opponent's temperament as well as her 
game and play against the grain of her temperament. 

I am seldom in a hurry to win. I would rather 
make sure that I know my opponent than start in to 
win from the first stroke. Late in the season, after 
one has met all the best players, this preliminary 
study is not so necessary, but even then a girl cannot 
be depended upon always to play the same game. 
She may change her style to meet what she thinks 
you are going to do. This is one of the fascinations 
of tennis. All the first-class players are versatile 
enough to try you on several styles of game. 

I formerly thought it best to meet a player at her 
own game. For instance, against a base-liner who 

[i 4 8] 



TEST OF THE TOURNAMENTS 

always managed to return and depended on you to 
commit the errors, I would also return easily without 
an attempt to score. Now I go to the net against 
such a player. I carry the game to her with all my 
might. Some years ago my sister Valborg played 
Miss Castenskiold, the Danish champion, in Stock- 
holm. Miss Castenskiold was a confirmed base- 
liner of the most irritating sort. She returned every- 
thing with the same easy drive. I told my sister to 
play the same game. She did. One rally took the 
ball seventy-eight times across the net! King 
Gustav of Sweden was among the spectators and is 
responsible for the count. And my sister lost the 
point! I could not play such a rally; I am sure that 
I would die of suppressed excitement before it ended. 
I was beside myself watching that rally. 

The usefulness of one's game depends upon fresh- 
ness. You may be trying to exhaust your adversary, 
and she may also be trying to exhaust you. She 
may keep you running for your returns, and certainly 
you will have plenty to do. Therefore do not 

[ M9] 



TENNIS FOR W O M EN 

further exhaust yourself going after impossible 
"gets"; do not be quick to imagine a ball is impos- 
sible to reach; you will soon come to choose between 
the possible and the impossible. 

Many "impossible" gets are avoided by closely 
watching your opponent as she makes her strokes; 
her eyes, the position of her racquet, her stance, often 
betray the destination of the ball and give one a start 
in time for the place where the ball will drop. Very 
few players always succeed in masking their shots. 

/. Enter tournaments when you have grounded your 
fundamental play. 

2. Enter every tournament you can. 

3. Do not be discouraged by defeat. 

4. Watch how other players win their matches. 

5. // you suffer from over-tennis, stop playing for 
a time. 

6. Study the game of your opponent; know her 
strength and her weakness. 



[150] 



Photograph by Wilton iy Post, Cal. 

FINISH OF THE FOREHAND DRIVE — ON THE WRONG FOOT 

Mrs. Thomas M. Bundv 



CHAPTER XI 

WHAT NOT TO WEAR 

IT IS easier to tell what not to wear when playing 
tennis than to say what to wear. Provided the 
costume is light and free, the choice may roam 
through a hundred styles and materials. Some few 
girls choose elaborate costumes, but I like a very 
simple dress — with the idea of being clothed and not 
gowned. 

The English girls have a habit of playing tennis in 
gowns that are particularly fit for an afternoon tea, 
and they often top off their costume with a large lace 
hat. I call this dressing for the tennis court and not 
for tennis; the costume may be compared to those 
fancy bathing suits which are not meant to be 
touched by water. 
One may dress very sensibly for tennis, and at the 

[>5i] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

same time look well. There is nothing incompatible 
between looking trim and being free and comfortable. 
Therefore, I think a shirtwaist of some light material 
and a linen skirt make the best and neatest costume. 
Of course, the only permissible color is white — white 
waist, white skirt, white stockings, and white shoes. 

Personally, I do not play with a hat, because the 
sun does not bother me, but the sun seriously affects 
many girls. In such cases a fair-sized panama with 
a turned-down brim is the only sensible headgear. 
An ordinary hat will not stay on and it is also too 
heavy. 

The shoes are a matter of personal taste, except 
that they should be very light indeed. The buck- 
skin shoes with the heavy rubber soles are entirely 
unsuitable for the tennis court, and if one likes a 
rubber sole, as I do, for all kinds of courts, a sneaker 
or other very light half shoe is much to be preferred. 
The sporting houses make a shoe for girls in very 
light leather with short spikes for use on the grass 
court. A heavy girl will hardly manage on a grass 

[152] 



WHAT NOT TO WEAR 

court without spikes, because the rubber will not 
hold her. On a clay or asphalt court only a rubber 
sole can be used. Lighter girls may use a rubber sole 
on any kind of a court. 

You will select your whole costume with the idea 
of freedom of movement, and therefore your skirt 
should be short enough and wide enough not to 
hamper any jump or stride which you may happen to 
make. You should forsake the prevailing style and 
choose the skirt with the idea of the greatest freedom 
with the least weight. It should be at least six 
inches from the ground. A very voluminous skirt 
means extra weight. For freedom's sake the shirt- 
waist should be open at the throat and should be full 
enough to admit of an unrestricted arm movement 
in any direction. 

I suggest washable materials, because, especially on 
clay or dirt courts, one becomes very soiled through an 
afternoon's play. And then most of the washable 
fabrics are lighter in weight than the unwashable. 
An afternoon of hard tennis will take quite enough 

[ 153] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

out of you without dragging around any more 
clothing than is absolutely necessary. 

A sweater coat or polo coat should always be at 
hand to put on immediately after practice or a 
match to avoid the possible chill following over- 
heating. I am very careless about this, but other 
girls may not be so hardy. 

Remember that you will play matches on wet 
courts and that you will frequently leave a match in 
a shocking condition as far as your clothing is con- 
cerned. Therefore never wear anything the spoiling 
of which will in the least bother you. 

/. Dress lightly and with perfect freedom of move" 
merit. 

2. Wear washable fabrics. 

3. Do not put your clothes above your game. 

4. Wear the lightest shoes that are comfortable. 



[•54] 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PRACTICE THAT HELPS 

PRACTISE, practise, practise — always prac- 
tise if you would play first-class tennis. The 
best players — the men and women in the first 
string — play nearly every day throughout the whole 
open season, and many play several times a week in- 
doors in winter. Every well-executed play in tennis 
is the result of practice; no matter what the natural 
aptitude, it is practice that makes the real tennis 
player. There is no royal road. Merely playing 
every day will not develop a game. The prac- 
tice must be gone about intelligently in the desire 
to improve the weak spots, and no amount of 
match playing will take the place of painstaking 
training. 
The natural desire in playing a friendly game is to 

[■55] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

use the strokes that you know best and to avoid the 
plays in which you have commonly failed; it stands 
to reason that it is not the best strokes but the poor 
strokes which need attention. Therefore match 
play does not cure your ills. Match play will give 
valuable confidence, but it will not teach tennis. The 
best way to improve your game is to spend hours 
hammering at a weak stroke. Sometimes you can 
find a player searching for strength who is willing to 
spend many afternoons playing but one stroke 
against you. Such a practice has something of the 
atmosphere of the match. Take plenty of balls — a 
dozen or two — and play only one stroke until you 
have mastered it. 

A captured small boy tossing balls to you will 
answer nearly as well as a player; amenable small 
boys may be had for a consideration. If your back- 
hand is weak, instruct the youngster to throw the 
balls always to your backhand, or, if you need train- 
ing in the smash, let him throw the balls into the air. 
It is possible to gain much skill batting the ball 

[i 5 6] 



THE PRACTICE THAT HELPS 

against a wall or a fence. Some clubs now have 
practice fences marked with a line at the height of a 
tennis net; it is surprising how much stroke action 
you can learn in this way. 

If you play practice matches, subordinate your im- 
mediate desire to win to an effort to strengthen your 
weaker points. And always keep your mind on 
what you are about ; if the practice grows tedious and 
you begin to hit listlessly, stop! Listless practice is 
worse than none. 

In selecting an opponent for practice, try to find a 
more skilful player than yourself — at least find some 
one who will extend you. It is poor practice, almost 
worse than none, to play against weaker players con- 
tinuously. And watch your desire to win at the ex- 
pense of strokes that need attention. It is an excel- 
lent scheme not to score at all in practice games; that 
will help rid them of the competitive idea and aid you 
to concentrate upon the parts of the game which you 
are working to improve. 

Many girls are so ashamed of being beaten in 

[157] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

practice that they will play as in a match and lose the 
chance to improve. Such girls never do improve; 
the more they practice, the more they confirm their 
bad habits. 

Do not be afraid to ask advice on ways of execut- 
ing strokes and on points of strategy. Almost every 
first-class player is glad to help a weaker player. If 
you have a good professional, he will be able to help 
out your game, but if you have no professional, take 
the advice of older players who know the game. The 
girl who will not give suggestions when asked by a 
younger player is a disgrace to the game. 

The natural tendency is to develop tennis along 
the lines of least resistance; every player likes certain 
strokes and becomes very strong in these strokes. 
All of your strokes cannot be of equal strength and 
you will certainly have favorites, but do not let your 
favorites compose your game of tennis. One player 
in England reached the first class because of an ex- 
ceptionally powerful forehand drive; he was a fast 
runner and he managed to bring of? strong forehand 

[158] 



THE PRACTICE THAT HELPS 

drives where most players would use a backhand, but 
he never became a champion, because he was essen- 
tially a one-stroke player. The champions are not 
always strong in every section of the game, but they 
never have pronounced weak spots. 

Specialization is a tennis fault; girls convince 
themselves that a stroke is difficult and they will 
avoid it instead of concentrating on it until they have 
a mastery. Again, a girl finds herself wild at the net, 
she does not care to make an exhibition of herself and 
therefore she never goes to the net; or it may be the 
other way about and she plays only net. 

One of the practical disadvantages of being a one- 
stroke or one-style player is that, once an opponent 
has discovered your strength, she will give you few 
chances to use it. She knows what to avoid and will 
never consciously give you a chance to practise your 
strength. I like nothing better than to find an op- 
ponent with only one style of play; it is but the mat- 
ter of a few games until you learn all the sure places 
to send the ball. Then the match is over. 

[ 159] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

The adage to the effect that it is best to do only one 
thing but to do that well does not apply to tennis. 
You will play a far better game if you perform in- 
differently well in all departments than if you have 
a few brilliant specialties and many patent weak 
spots. 

I advise the sternest drilling in every weak stroke 
so that your game will be built into a symmetrical 
whole; you will still have your pet strokes, but you 
will also have a fair average of strength in all the 
strokes. In the same manner, I advise against a for- 
mal commitment to any style of game; it is not al- 
ways well to play from the base line nor is it always 
well to play net. Let your whole style be adaptable 
to circumstance. 

I think the chief danger in training for a tennis 
match is in the direction of too much work. When 
a girl starts the season, she will find herself wofully 
out of practice; many of the points of her game will 
need a decided brushing up. She has plenty of re- 
serve energy from her winter's rest and a wild desire 

I 1 60 ] 



THE PRACTICE THAT HELPS 

"to be up and at it." Before she knows it, she will 
be in an over-tennis condition. 

Of course, the amount of training depends on the 
individual, but it is well to remember that a tourna- 
ment requires a great amount of endurance, and that 
if you are down very fine you will probably have ex- 
hausted your reserve strength and possibly "crack" 
in the deciding set. 

I train somewhat differently from most girls 
because I am always in condition. But my own 
difficulty is avoiding too much work. I am not 
particularly an advocate of " early to bed and early 
to rise" training, nor do I think any particular diet 
should be followed. I simply get as much sleep as I 
think I need, eat what I like — although I do not eat 
much before a hard match — and generally I try to 
forget that I am preparing for anything in particular. 
I firmly believe that most training wears, because a 
girl gets an entirely exaggerated idea of the impor- 
tance of the training and of the match ; she gives way 
to nerves. 

[161] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

I think that a set or two in the morning, with pos- 
sibly some practice of individual strokes, and two or 
three hard sets in the late afternoon, will put any one 
into proper condition, and that the off time had best 
be spent in doing something entirely unconnected 
with tennis which takes one's mind entirely off the 
game and the coming match. 

The normal girl needs none of the ordeals of the 
prize fighter; of course a case might be imagined in 
which the player had abused herself during the win- 
ter season, but that sort of a girl is hardly likely to 
take to tennis anyway. The general average needs 
only the development of endurance and the minimi- 
zation of " nerves," and this result is best to be gained 
by a perfectly natural life with a fair amount of tennis. 

I thoroughly believe in the European system of 
training, and I think the girl who "trains hard" may 
hurt both her game and herself. 

/. Practise to improve, and practise always. 

2. In practice, play your weaker strokes in pref- 
erence to your stronger. 

[162] 




Photograph by Edzcin Levick, N. } 
THE SERVICE OF MISS ANN SHEAFE 



THE PRACTICE THAT HELPS 

3. If you have one very weak stroke, play only that 
stroke until it is strong. 

4. Play against the best opponents you can find. 

5. Do not make matches out of practice games; do 
not keep a score. 



[•6 3 j 



CHAPTER XIII 

MOSTLY PERSONAL 

THIRTEEN years ago some one asked me to 
fill out a game of doubles on the indoor 
tennis courts in Christiania; I took a rac- 
quet and hit the ball. I think the ball went through 
a skylight — but the point is that I hit the ball un- 
commonly hard. 

That is why I liked tennis at once, and why I have 
played whenever I have had the chance, for I have 
always had a desire to run about and hit something. 
At school we had plenty of exercise. In the summer 
there was rowing and swimming, and frequent battles 
with my brothers, but, until I discovered tennis, I 
never had a real chance to fling myself about and 
hit. 

Finding that I had a "tennis eye" and could hit 

[i6 4 ] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

the ball gave me unlimited confidence in my ability 
to play and beat others. In a month after starting I 
played in my first tournament. I have never passed 
a tournament since, for it is only by competitive play 
that one can improve. Of course I was beaten in my 
first match; I found that the other girls did not hit 
the ball so hard, but they did know more or less 
where it was going to land. I made up my mind 
right there that I would learn how to place. 

The indoor courts in Christiania were poorly 
lighted; no one knew much about tennis, and when I 
secured a professional teacher in the spring I had to 
unlearn many bad habits. The professional taught 
me that tennis does not consist in a wild "swat" at 
the ball; he grounded me in the elements of stroke. 
It is a great mistake not to take lessons from a pro- 
fessional before playing tennis; lessons are unin- 
teresting, but they pay in the end. 

I went on fast enough because of my strength and 
my eye. I was runner-up in the Norwegian cham- 
pionships that fall. I should have gone on faster 

[165] 



TENNIS FOR WOM EN 

had I known better players with whom to practise, 
or had I had the chance to enter more tournaments. 
We have little tennis in Norway, and very few good 
players. There were no girls, excepting my younger 
sister, to give me a game, and soon I became too fast 
for the men. We had a few players attached to the 
British Legation, and I also played frequently with 
the present Crown Prince of Sweden, Gustav Adolf. 
We entered the mixed doubles in the World's Indoor 
Championship at Stockholm in 1904, but were 
quickly beaten; I was also beaten in the first round of 
the singles. 

My game was improving, however, and in 1904 I 
won the woman's outdoor tennis championship of 
Norway. I have since won it every time that I have 
entered — eight times. 

Having finished school at home, I went to a board- 
ing-school in Wiesbaden, principally to learn German, 
but I did not like the girls at all. I cried for six 
months, until I finally managed to have my parents 
take me home. Then I went to Paris for a year to 

[ 166] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

perfect my French. Of course I did not get much 
tennis in either place. 

That was six years ago; most of the girls that I 
knew were taking up massage — we in Norway think 
that every girl ought to have a profession of some 
kind — and I took a course at the Orthopedic Institute 
in Christiania. I am glad that I did, for otherwise I 
should probably never have come to America to live, 
and therefore I should never have won the champion- 
ship. 

In 1908 I thought I should try my luck in London 
as a masseuse; I joined the Queen's Club for tennis, 
and had plenty of fine practice with the professionals. 
I also found that there was a great deal more for me 
to learn about tennis. I had not been playing my 
strokes quite right, and my play was much below that 
of the English girls. I entered one or two tourna- 
ments, but was easily beaten; I had very little 
practice against women, and I did not quite know 
how to take their game. 

Although the tennis was so good in England, the 

[167] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

practice of my profession was not, and I came back to 
Christiania to my parents. I had learned tennis, and 
had had a good time learning it. 

I had been anxious to play in some tournaments 
outside of Norway or Sweden; I wanted to try my- 
self against better players. I can never really play 
hard unless my opponent is pressing me; when I have 
easy matches, my game goes down. 

My sister and I were asked to play in a tournament 
at Hamburg and we accepted, promising our parents 
that we would not be gone over a week. I was 
beaten in the finals, one set to two by the cham- 
pion of Germany. 

The German girls told us that we would have a 
splendid time at the Braunschweig handicaps; we 
were due home, but we reasoned that it would be the 
last outing for the summer and we ventured Braun- 
schweig. We had great luck there ; we won the doub- 
les, owing thirty, and then we tossed for the'singles. 

There was another tournament on at Hamburg; 

my mother kept wiring us to come home, but since 

[168] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

we were due for a scolding anyway, we thought it 
might as well be a good one; we went to Hamburg. I 
took the third prize in the singles. Finally at Baden- 
Baden we reached the end of our money and I had to 
send a wire home for more. My sister went on to 
Dresden to study music, so I had to face things at 
Christiania alone; my father was waiting to meet me 
at the boat ! 

That summer in Germany gave me more tourna- 
ment play than I had ever had ; in fact, I played more 
that summer than at any time before coming to the 
United States, and I learned a great deal of tennis. 
The German girls hit the ball much harder than do 
most of the girls here, and they play a splendid 
placing game from the base line; they hardly ever 
come to the net. 

The Olympic games came the next year, 19 12. 
The Norwegian Association would not enter me in 
the indoor games, because they did not like to be 
represented by only a woman! However, they en- 
tered me in the outdoor games. 

[169] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

I played much better in the Olympics than I had 
ever played before, but in the third round I lost to 
Mile. Broquedis, the French champion. The sets 
were 6 — 3, 2 — 6, 6 — 4, and most of the games went to 
deuce. She eventually took the first prize and I got 
the third, a bronze medal. 

After the Olympics I played only in Norway and 
Sweden until I came to the United States in October, 
1 914, to practise my profession; I do not practise 
massage at home, and I was tiring of inaction. I 
was engaged for a while by a family in Canada. 
Then I came to New York. 

I had little thought of tennis in America, until I 
saw the newspaper accounts of the men's indoor 
championships in February. Then I began to be 
restless. I looked in at the armory during several 
of the matches, and finally I asked if there would be 
any chance to practise after the tournament had 
finished. They told me of the woman's champion- 
ship in March, and at once I entered, not that I had 

much idea of winning, but I wanted competition. 

[ 170] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

I found Haggett, a professional from Stockholm, at 
the courts. I told him that I was going to enter for 
the championship; and then I said, I am afraid some- 
what plaintively: 

" I want to win." 

"Go ahead and do it," he replied cheerfully, but he 
had not the least idea that I would. I did not get 
into the game until the tournament started, but then 
I went through without losing a set. I confess that 
I was very much surprised. 

I suppose that I am very silly about tournament 
play — I am so superstitious. I make a wish when- 
ever I see two white horses. I had great luck on the 
night before the finals of the National Champion- 
ships at Philadelphia. I was talking with Mrs. 
Wightman, whom I was to play, when I saw a falling 
star. There is nothing so lucky as wishing on a fall- 
ing star. I made my wish, " I want to win the 
National." And I did. 

Then, I have a Japanese brooch which I always 
wear when I play; it is so ugly that I cannot wear it 

I 17' 1 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

at any other time. I am afraid to play without 
it. 

I cannot play "steady" tennis; I must try new 
strokes and new plays all the time, or the game loses 
interest. I often get into trouble trying styles 
which I do not know much about. For instance, I 
will sometimes practise them against a weaker 
player, and just manage to win, while I will be con- 
servative against a good player and probably win 
more easily. Then a good player thinks that I have 
tried to make her appear weak, and is correspond- 
ingly cross. I do not mean to make such a com- 
parison — it is just that I cannot help trying new 
plays whenever I have the chance. 

When the outdoor season opened I entered nearly 
all the tournaments about New York and found that 
I could somewhat more than hold my own with the 
local players. Then I played through the Nationals 
in Philadelphia, winning in the final from Mrs. 
George Wightman by two sets to one, and again 
beating her at Pittsburg for the Clay Court Cham- 

[ 172] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

pionship by the same number of sets. Mrs. Wight- 
man was by far the best player whom I had met in 
the United States up to date. Between times I won 
the singles title in the Metropolitan, Pelham Invita- 
tion, Crescent Athletic Club Invitation, Middle 
States, Nyack, Tri-State, Ohio State and Longwood 
Invitation. I lost at Orange, N. J., to Mrs. Fred- 
erick Schmitz; at Alexandria Bay, N. Y., to Mrs. 
Marshall McLean, and to Mrs. George Wightman at 
Cedarhurst. These were the only matches I lost in 
the East during the year, and I have since beaten all 
these players. 

I think that I am the first girl to hold all the na- 
tional titles for women in singles in the one year, but 
it was great fun getting them, and I am afraid that I 
cannot be very conceited about them. 

I have played more and better tennis since coming 
to America than I ever played before. When I came 
here I could drive; I knew nothing of the volley and 
my service was very weak. Some said that my back- 
hand was weak, but I think they said that because 

[173] 



TENNIS FOR WOMEN 

my forehand was very strong; of course my backhand 
was not as strong as my forehand. I practised my 
backhand every day for two weeks with the pro- 
fessional at the West Side Club. By steady practice 
I have learned something of the volley, and in time I 
am going to volley strongly. As far as my backhand 
is concerned, I can only say that Mrs. Bundy pre- 
ferred my forehand to my backhand. I never 
expect to know how to serve and I do not care to 
know the various cut strokes or services. 

After the close of the Eastern season I went out to 
California with Mrs. George Wightman and played 
in a number of special events. I had three fine 
matches with Mrs. Thomas M. Bundy of which she 
won two and I won one. She is the best player that 
I have ever known, and has a wonderfully hard and 
accurate drive. She plays very much the same game 
as I do, and also has the same tendency to drive her- 
self off her feet with the force of the stroke. I also 
lost to Miss Anita Meyers after having won the first 
set 6 — o. 

[•74] 



MOSTLY PERSONAL 

The play out in California is not under quite so 
comfortable conditions as in the Eastern clubs, al- 
though I had a splendid time. The courts are all 
asphalt and are very hard indeed on one's feet. But 
it is a delightful sensation to play in the open air in 
December. 

My present program is to practise my profession 
through half the year and play tennis the other half. 
Perhaps that is not the most remunerative way of 
living that can be imagined, but it is the most fun. 



THE END 




THE COUNTRY LIFE PRES8 
GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 



3l|77-3 



